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DE RUEHKG #0570/01 1771448
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 251448Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY KINGSTON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6488
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0210
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0486
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 2306
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KINGSTON 000570 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR (JTILGHMAN) (VDEPIRRO) 
WHA/EPSC (MROONEY) 
EEB/ESC/IEC (GGRIFFIN) 
EEB/TPP/IPE (JHALLOCK) 
SANTO DOMINGO FOR FCS AND FAS 
TREASURY FOR ERIN NEPHEW 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: ENRG EAIR EINV ECON ETRD EIND IADB IBRD IMF TRSY
XL, JM 
SUBJECT: JAMAICA: JUNE ECONOMIC REVIEW 
 
REF: A) KINGSTON 542 
 
B) KINGSTON 365 
C) KINGSTON 263 
D) KINGSTON 490 
E) KINGSTON 539 
F) KINGSTON 1659 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: 
 
-- Senator Don Wehby is being criticized by the Tourism and Hotel 
sector for its management of Air Jamaica in the face of reduced 
flights to the Caribbean by other airlines. The government also has 
asked the airline's board to resign; a new board will be named soon. 
 
 
-- Jamaica's rail service will be back on track in three years, as a 
result of a deal with the Chinese Government, according to the 
Minister of Transport. 
 
-- The country spent an additional USD 200 million during the first 
quarter for imported oil; total oil costs for the year could be 
above USD 2 billion, according to the Statistical Institute of 
Jamaica (STATIN). 
 
-- Adoption of a net metering system will allow customers that 
generate power from renewable energy to be paid the same price that 
they are charged for drawing power from the national grid, according 
to the Ministry of Energy. 
 
-- Minister of Commerce and Industry has again stopped the trade in 
scrap metal due to high volume of stolen metal being exported from 
the island. The Minister also announced plans for a 500 acre 
industrial park during the recent Diaspora Conference. 
 
-- Winter tourist figures for the 2008 show an 8.4 percent increase 
in stopover arrivals compared to the same period last year. 
 
-- Jamaica raised USD 350 million from international capital markets 
from a 10-year bond; aftermarket trading of the bond was lower, 
indicating reduced demand. The GOJ revenues increased 30 percent for 
the month of April over the same month last year; further indication 
that increased tax collection efforts by the Finance Minister are 
starting to yield results. 
 
-- RBTT bank in Jamaica won a court decision authorizing it to close 
the accounts of local foreign exchange trader World Wise Limited, 
one of Jamaica's many alternative investment schemes.  Real estate 
professionals expect the collapse of several schemes on the island 
to reduce demand for real estate this year. 
 
-- Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) President Luis Alberto 
Moreno made a two-day visit to discuss economic issues and to 
provide a USD 1.6 million grant. 
 
--------------------- 
Aviation/ Air Jamaica 
--------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Wayne Cummings, the President of the Jamaica Hotel and 
Tourist Association (JHTA), criticized Senator Don Wehby, Minister 
without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and Public Service, who 
is responsible for the management and privatization of the 
beleaguered airline Air Jamaica.  In a June 15 article in The 
Observer newspaper, Cummings was quoted as saying "It is now clear 
to us that Mr. Wehby has no interest in helping to strengthen the 
airline and is not prepared to support Air Jamaica, despite its 
vital importance to the tourist industry and Jamaica." 
 
¶3. (SBU) Cummings said the JHTA is concerned that other airlines are 
reducing service to the Caribbean because of rising fuel costs, 
fearing this could hurt the tourism sector in Jamaica.  Cummings 
said the JHTA has urged stronger marketing of Air Jamaica to enable 
it to "out-fly the crisis." COMMENT: Many in the tourism and hotel 
sector appear unwilling to acknowledge the dire situation facing Air 
Jamaica (reftel A).  According to Prime Minister Golding, Air 
Jamaica has over USD 1 billion in debt.  The airline has never made 
a profit in its 40 years of operation, and is facing more than USD 
170 million in losses this year. Meanwhile, labor unions have been 
pressuring the GOJ for a wage increase.  One June 11, the unions 
tentatively accepted a 14 percent wage increase offer, which 
 
KINGSTON 00000570  002 OF 004 
 
 
includes a 6 percent increase in the first year and an 8 percent 
increase in the second year.  On June 25 the Observer newspaper 
revealed that the GOJ had asked the Air Jamaica board to resign. 
During his speech the day before at the launch of the National 
Export week (see ASDAR), PM Golding had alluded to a decision made 
in Cabinet on June 23 to help prepare Air Jamaica for privatization. 
 A number of the Embassy's contacts at Air Jamaica have left the 
airline to find work elsewhere. END COMMENT. 
 
¶4. (U) American Airlines (AA) will provide more seats to Jamaica as 
part of a guaranteed revenue agreement with the GOJ; AA will provide 
2,000 additional seats at a cost of USD 150,000 for each of the 
three routes (Miami, Chicago and Dallas) according to a report in 
the Herald newspaper reported on Sunday June 22. The plan will take 
effect in November.  Air Jamaica was reportedly unable to provide 
the extra seats. 
 
-------------- 
Transportation 
-------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Transport Minister Mike Henry said during his Parliamentary 
sector debate that the GOJ had talked with the Chinese government 
for eight months about reviving the island's railways.  Henry said a 
deal had been reached in which 18 new railway stations and new 
tracks allowing for faster trains with heavier loads will be built. 
Henry said the Government of China will provide loans to finance 85 
percent of the project, which will cost close to USD 354 million. 
He said Jamaica would secure five new engines, 45 passenger cars, 
and 68 freight cars.  Henry said the freight services would lower 
transportation costs in light of higher fuel prices, and the new 
passenger service would link Kingston and Montego Bay. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Environment/ Renewable Energy/ Energy 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) The GOJ plans to allow Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) 
customers to sell electricity generated from renewable energy back 
to the national grid through full net metering.  The system will 
allow a customer's utility meter to run backwards as he/she 
generates and supplies power to the national grid, and then run 
forward when he/she draws power.  Those customers that supply power 
from wind energy or solar panels would essentially be paid the same 
rate by JPS for the energy in the form of a direct credit, as the 
rate they would pay for energy that they draw from JPS. Under the 
current net billing system a customer who generates power and 
supplies it to the grid is paid a reduced rate for the power and 
must buy back the energy at the market rate.  Director of Energy at 
the Ministry of Energy, Conroy Watson, said the GOJ is working 
assiduously to get this program operational as soon as possible, but 
was not specific on whether it would go into effect in 2008 or 2009. 
 The new system will require changing the existing license with JPS 
and redrafting the Electricity Licensing Act.  The plan faces 
opposition within JPS, as some prefer a "net billing" system, which 
was approved by the Office of Utilities Regulation in 2006. 
Mullings will give a National Energy policy speech in Parliament on 
July 1. 
 
¶7. (U) Trade figures released on June 18 by the Statistical 
Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) show in the first quarter that the 
country spent USD 200 million for imported oil over last year. 
Jamaica relies on imported oil for about 93 percent of its power 
generation.  STATIN reports that between January and March the cost 
of imported oil was USD 644 million, a 58 percent increase over the 
USD 407 million in the corresponding period last year.  Jamaica's 
imported oil bill could be well above USD 2 billion for the year if 
world oil prices continue to remain high. 
 
--------------------------- 
Foreign and U.S. Investment 
--------------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) Jamaica held its third biannual Diaspora Conference on June 
16-17 in Kingston.  Karl Samuda, Minister of Industry and Commerce, 
announced plans to rezone 500 acres of land for a future industrial 
park.  Samuda said the GOJ would complete infrastructure 
improvements such as water, sewers and roads, and then offer the 
land for 99-year lease to interested private sector groups.  He 
wants to transform the area near Caymanas just outside Kingston into 
 
KINGSTON 00000570  003 OF 004 
 
 
a free trade zone facility with the hope of attracting small 
manufacturing, information technology and agro-processing 
operations. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Samuda added that he has tasked Jamaica Trade and Invest 
(JTI), the trade and investment entity of the GOJ formerly known as 
JAMPRO, to begin marketing a full range of investment opportunities 
to entice members of the Diaspora to consider investing in Jamaica. 
COMMENT: JTI faces some internal weaknesses in targeting foreign 
investors.  Emboffs attended a session for potential investors at 
JTI on the morning of June 17; only three members of the Diaspora 
attended and the session included running through the same 
PowerPoint presentation given at the conference the day before. In 
prior meetings with JTI, the entity has announced 10 areas of focus 
including medical tourism, entertainment and information technology 
services, but has not articulated how it will go about marketing to 
these sectors or what incentives they will use to encourage 
investment in Jamaica.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶10. (U) The Boston Diaspora Ventures (BDV), an entity founded by 
Jamaican expatriates living in Boston, initiated a joint venture 
with the All Island Bee Farmers Association to begin buying honey 
from local farmers and marketing it for export.  The partnership, 
praised by JTI during the Diaspora Conference, will begin with a 
modest investment of USD 50,000 by BDV. 
 
----- 
Trade 
----- 
 
¶11. (U) For the second time in eight months, Karl Samuda Minister of 
Industry and Commerce, has prohibited the export of scrap metal 
until further notice.  Rising scrap metal prices brought theft to 
near epidemic levels in November 2007, as thieves were stealing 
copper telecommunications cables, city water pipes, manhole covers, 
and even burglar bars (reftel F).  Samuda says the problem goes 
beyond mere petty theft, saying that operational planning and the 
use of heavy equipment are sometimes needed to pull off the crimes. 
Samuda has also blamed unethical traders who deal in stolen scrap. 
The ministry has revoked the trading licenses of businesses that are 
receiving stolen scrap metal. 
 
¶12. (U) Samuda said the illegal activities pose a major threat to 
the economic development of Jamaica, disrupting essential services. 
The National Water Ministry has had more than USD 50,000 in water 
pipes stolen in the past four months.  Telecom firm Cable and 
Wireless has had more than USD 30,000 in copper cables stolen. 
Samuda received public praise for acting swiftly to fix the problem 
last year. He has said he will resume exports once he has increased 
inspections of shipping containers and on site inspections of 
licensed metal traders to certify that exports are not from stolen 
items. 
 
-------------- 
Tourism Sector 
-------------- 
 
¶13. (U) Preliminary figures for the 2008 winter tourist season in 
Jamaica show an 8.4 percent increase in stopover arrivals compared 
to the same period last year.  From January to March, stopover 
arrivals were 483,959, up from 427,252 in 2007. Basil Smith, 
Director of Tourism, said he expects an even greater increase later 
this year, adding that the overall performance of the sector was due 
to "a sustained marketing effort on the part of the Jamaica Tourist 
Board".  The U.S. continued to dominate the stopover arrivals with 
some 300,609 visitors. Canada and Europe followed with 92,671 and 
68,599 visitors, respectively. Spain is a growing market due to 
marketing being done for recent Spanish-owned hotels. By the end of 
the year, Jamaica should have an additional 3,000 new hotel rooms 
bringing the total to about 30,000. 
 
--------------------------- 
Budget / Tax Revenue / Debt 
--------------------------- 
 
¶14. (SBU) Jamaica raised USD 350 million on international capital 
markets with a ten-year government bond paying 8 percent.  The GOJ 
hopes to raise another 250 USD million from international capital 
markets to finance government expenditures. Although the full USD 
350 million was raised for the bonds, they were trading lower in the 
 
KINGSTON 00000570  004 OF 004 
 
 
aftermarket, indicating that demand was not as high for them.  The 
poor aftermarket result would make it less likely that the Jamaicans 
will come to the market again soon for the other USD 250 million. 
Jamaica retains a single credit rating of "B". 
 
¶15. (U) GOJ revenues increased 30 percent for the month of April 
over the same month last year.  The collection of USD 301.7 million 
exceeded the target set in March by USD 35.25 million.  The GOJ 
still faces a deficit, as expenditures rose 32 percent (relative to 
previous period), reflecting a 52 percent increase in interest 
payments and capital expenditures more than doubled; however, the 
deficit was below what was targeted, as total expenditures were kept 
within budget. Overall expenditures were USD 353.9 million, 
resulting in a negative fiscal balance of USD 52.2 million. 
 
¶16. (U) Tax collected from pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) income tax 
increased by seven percent to USD 56.4 million, USD 5.64 million 
more than anticipated.  (COMMENT:  This is an early indication that 
Minister of Finance Audley Shaw's aggressive efforts to increase 
compliance with tax collection are starting to yield results, reftel 
E).  The growth in overall revenue partly reflected an increase in 
tax on interest, which moved from USD 14 million in April 2007 to 
USD 33.84 million in April 2008.  The majority of the increase in 
earnings was attained from tax on international trade, up 62 percent 
to USD 97.4 million or USD 10 million better than targeted.  Special 
consumption tax (SCT) on imports increased six fold to USD 19.7 
million, about USD 4.5 million better than expected. General 
consumption tax (GCT) on imports grew 30 per cent to USD 35.9 
million; about USD 1.96 million better than projected. 
 
------------------------------ 
Alternative Investment Schemes 
------------------------------ 
 
¶17. (U) The Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (RBTT) Jamaica was 
authorized to close the accounts of local foreign exchange trader 
World Wise Limited.  The judicial decision brings an end to a court 
battle between the bank and the specious alternative investment 
scheme.  Justice Bryan Sykes ruled in favor of the RBTT and lifted 
an injunction blocking the closure of World Wise accounts.  RBTT was 
also purchased in June by the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Canada's 
largest financial institution. The merged operations will be based 
in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. 
 
¶18. (U) The collapse of several alternative investment schemes and 
higher fuel prices are staring to reduce the demand for real estate. 
 Realtors expect slower growth in the housing market in 2008. 
Participants in various alternative investment schemes have lost 
their investments as well as income streams from interest payments. 
Valerie Levy, who heads Levy and Associates, told the Observer 
newspaper on June 15 that she expects demand to decrease by about 10 
percent. 
 
------------------- 
Multilateral Donors 
------------------- 
 
¶19. (U) IADB President Moreno visited Jamaica on June 4-5 at the 
invitation of Audley Shaw, Minister of Finance and Public Service. 
Moreno met with GOJ ministers, private sector leaders, and members 
of the diplomatic corps.  Ambassador Johnson joined Moreno at a 
lunch hosted by the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ) 
and Citibank.  Moreno spoke at the PSOJ's Annual Economic Seminar 
held at the Bank of Jamaica with the theme "Going for Growth."  The 
Ministry of Finance also received a USD 1.6 million grant from the 
IADB, which was signed during the visit.  The funds will be used to 
cover expenses relating to the implementation of the Government's 
Medium Term Action Plans. 
HEG