MONTEGO BAY, St James — Finance Minister Audley Shaw on Thursday renewed his call for the banking sector to reduce interest rates, when he officially declared open the GraceKennedy Financial Centre at the Fairview Shopping Centre in this resort city.

“We want to have a consensus around bringing down interest rates to single digits, so I am calling on the banking sector to help to lead the way to aggressively reduce interest rates on commercial bank loans,” Shaw said.

He argued that the lowering of interest rates would serve to stimulate and grow the country’s economy.

“When you do that (lower interest rates) you are going to stimulate the market, for more loans, for more private businesses, for more start-ups, for attractions to be created in the tourism sector,” he explained.

He told the members of the business community that since the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) — which is to provide US$1.27 billion over the next 24 months — there has been an infusion of more than US$1billion into the Jamaican economy.

Of this amount, the finance minister noted, “other” multilateral financial institutions have provided US$400 million, while the IMF has already disbursed some $640 million.

Meanwhile, Shaw said the opening of the 8,000-square-ft GraceKennedy Financial Centre in Montego Bay reflects the company’s commitment to Jamaica.

Don Wehby, the chief operating officer at GraceKennedy Limited, attributed the opening of the facility to “years of sustained effort by GraceKennedey in the furthering of our mission of meeting the unmet needs of our customers, wherever they may be in the world”.

“It represents our desire to reduce the hassle in our customers’ lives by providing a one-stop solution for their financial planning needs,” he stressed.

The Montego Bay centre houses the offices of First Global Bank, First Global Financial Services Limited, Jamaica International Insurance Company, and Allied Insurance Brokers Limited.

The companies, with the exception of Allied Insurance Brokers Limited, were previously located at offices along Gloucester Avenue, in the resort city.

AIB is opening its first office in Montego Bay.

Wehby noted that GraceKennedy’s presence in Montego Bay dates back to the 1920s when the company was mainly involved in food distribution.

“But since then, we have expanded our presence to include our retail companies — Hi-Lo, located on Church Street and Fairview Shopping Centre; Rapid Tru Value, also in Fairview Shopping Centre; and our financial services companies, including Western Union, Bill Express and FX Trader,” he told the large gathering.

According to Wehby, the centre represents GraceKennedy’s commitment to making it easier for persons in Western Jamaica to access the company’s products and services.