No recorded growth for Jamaica in 2013, says Development Bank review
Published:Wednesday | February 12, 2014 | 8:55 AM
In a review of its borrowing members the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has revealed that Jamaica is estimated to have recorded no growth in 2013.
The projection is contained in its ‘Economic Review and Prospects’ for its borrowing member states.
It said economic activity was sluggish, flat or contracted in the remaining borrowing member countries as key service industries bucked regional trends.
However, it said regional countries experienced average economic growth of 1.5 per cent last year as compared with 1.2 per cent in 2012.
It said foreign exchange reserves increased in Belize, the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union and Trinidad and Tobago, but fell in The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica and Suriname.
It said moderate growth of between one and three per cent recorded in Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Turks and Caicos Islands was linked to the general improvement in construction and tourism in the member countries.
The CDB says the Caribbean region is likely to record average economic growth by 2.3 per cent in 2014.
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