Business Climate
Our economic journey continues to impress the world
Business Climate
With bold aggressive strides, Jamaica’s business confidence is currently the best it has ever been in decades. The country has had extraordinary track record in supporting large-scale investment projects, local and international players continue to tap into the wealth of investment and trade opportunities that the country has to offer. We’ll tell you why!
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International Rankings
Easiest Place to Start a Business
Jamaica is the 6th easiest place to start a business globally (World Bank Doing Business Report, 2019)
Easiest Place to Get Credit
Jamaica is the 12th easiest place for Getting Credit (World Bank Doing Business Report, 2019)
Best Caribbean Country
Jamaica is the best Caribbean country for Doing Business (Forbes, 2019 and World Bank Doing Business Report 2019)
Highest Performing Stock Market
The Jamaica Stock Exchange is the highest performing stock market globally, (Bloomberg 2015 and 2018)
Credit Rating Upgraded
Jamaica’s credit rating is stable (Fitch, 2021; Standard & Poor’s, 2019)
Moved up 6 places
Jamaica moved up 6 places on the Logistics Performance Index (World Bank, 2018)
Best Destination
Jamaica was voted the Best Destination in the Caribbean and among the 14 best destinations globally (TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards, 2019)
Absence of Red tape
When it comes on to the absence of red tape to stir the growth of businesses, Jamaica is ranked 6th globally (Forbes Best Countries for Business Report, 2019
Placed 71st / 190
Jamaica placed 71st in the Doing Business Report 2020 out of 190 countries (World Bank)
Placed 79th / 140
Jamaica ranked 79th in Global Competitiveness Report 2018 out of 140 countries (World Economic Forum)
BPO Nearshore City of the Year
Kingston named BPO Nearshore City of the Year (Nearshore Americas, July 2018)
Long-Term Foreign Issuer
Jamaica is graded B+ for Government’s Long-Term Foreign Issuer and Local Currency Issuer Default Rating (Fitch Ratings Agency, 2020)
#1 Cargo Movement
Jamaica ranks #1 in the Caribbean and 8th in Latin America and the Caribbean for cargo volume movement reaching 1.5 million TEUs (2017)
Business Confidence
Business and consumer confidence have increased annually by 24.1 and 67.5 points respectively in the last decade.
Infrastructure
Transportation Network
Well-developed infrastructure with world-class highways, airports and seaports
Telecommunication
Robust telecommunications infrastructure with built-in redundancy
Airport
Jamaica’s airport is ranked 4th in the Caribbean region, Skytrax World Airport Awards, 2022.
Airport Investment
Grupo Aeropuerto del Pacifico launched an estimated US$95 million investment project following its successful bid to operate the Norman Manley International Airport
Port Investment
Third-largest shipping line in the world, CMA-CGM, invested over US$400 million in the Kingston Port
Cruise Port
Caribbean leading cruise port, World Cruise Awards, 2021.
Port Traffic
Jamaica’s ports received approximately 3000 ship calls
Port Capacity
1.83Mil TEU containerized cargo moved through our Kingston Ports (2018)
Governance
Stable Democracy
Jamaica has a vibrant and stable democracy with elections held at least every five years
Strong Governing System
Jamaica has clear checks and balances in Government with strong legislative and executive arms, and a wholly independent of the judiciary arm of Government
Accountability
Jamaica has strong political accountability frameworks to deter corruption of officials
Incentives
Jamaica boasts numerous incentives and trade agreements
Economy
Low Unemployment Rate
Unemployment of 7.1% Economic and Social Survey Jamaica, 2021.
National Debt
National debt to GDP ratio is 96.3% and has fallen by 13.4% over the last Financial Year 2021/22, according to the Ministry of Finance’s Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy, 2022.
Fiscal Management
Fiscal management has been evident in the successful passage of the tests under the IMF Stand-By agreement.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
Jamaica is the 3rd largest recipient of FDI inflows in the Caribbean (excluding Offshore Financial Centres) and 2nd largest Small Island Developing States (2018)
Investment
Home to World Brands
Some of the world’s biggest brands call us home! DHL, FedEx, Huawei, Scotiabank and Citibank, are just a few of the large multinationals with offices in Jamaica.
Home-grown Conglomerates
Jamaica remains the home of several locally grown conglomerates including Sandals Resorts, GraceKennedy and National Bakery.
Foreign Direct Investment
Jamaica’s diversified market economy has accommodated over US$6 billion in foreign direct investments (FDI) over the past 10 years
Manufacturing
Heineken group purchased Red Stripe, a local company, from beverage conglomerate Diageo at a price of US$421 million in 2015
Tourism
Over US$1 billion Investments in tourism since 2018, including projects like Ocean Coral Springs, Princess Hotels, Grand Excelsior Port Royal Hotel and AC Mariott.
Logistics and Infrastructure
Kingston Container Terminal was divested to the CMA-CGM group with an anticipated investment of up to US$500 million
Mining
Jiquan Iron and Steel Company (JISCO) invested US$299 million to takeover the Alumina Partners of Jamaica from Rusal in 2016.
Creative Industries
Jamaica was the location to produce feature films and over 300 film and television projects including BOND25, Yardie , Sprinter, King of the Dancehall , among others
Home to International Brands
Jamaica’s global appeal and investment climate have persuaded a diverse mix of famous multinational corporations to establish operations in the country.
Local Investors
The confidence of local investors continue to grow and so do their investments.
Strategic Access
Strong air connectivity
Jamaica welcomes 400 international flights weekly from over 40 airlines to major gateways worldwide
Impressive sea connectivity
Jamaica has the #1 transhipment port in the region
Near shore advantage
Jamaica has over half a billion of the world’s population living within a four-hour flight radius
Leading Location
Kingston is the nearshore city of year, and the leading contact centre location in the English-speaking Caribbean, 2018
Talent Pool
English speaking
Jamaica is the third largest English-speaking country in the Western Hemisphere
Creative
Jamaica’s workforce is known globally for its creative and enterprising spirit.
Cost-competitive
Jamaica boasts a cost-competitive workforce
Literate
Adult literacy rate is 91.7% according to the Economic and Social Survey Jamaica, 2021.
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