Holness: Last-quarter growth was two per cent
THE Jamaican economy grew a year-on-year two per cent in the fourth quarter of 2018, Prime Minister Andrew Holness has confirmed.
Holness made the disclosure while speaking at yesterday’s Wigton Windfarm Limited’s breakfast briefing at the Legacy Suite of the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.
He said that he was informed that the Statistical Institute of Jamaica has reported actual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for October – December 2018 at two per cent, compared to the corresponding quarter of 2017.
“I am happy, but I am not clapping,” Holness told the audience, as he closed his address to a large number of interested investors attending the Mayberry Investment Limited event, which focused on Wigton Windfarm Limited’s Initial Public Offer (IPO) scheduled for April 17 to May 1.
“We have had 16 consecutive quarters of growth, all increasing inch by inch. We will get to four, maybe not in five, but we will get to four,” he told his audience.
“We are on the runway, we are picking up momentum. We will take off and soar as this country is blessed to do,” he added.
Holness said the Government was going through a list of its business operations and, as soon as possible, will be packaging a number of other entities, including the Jamaica Mortgage Bank, for similar treatment as Wigton Windfarm.
The Wigton IPO is scheduled to open at 9:00 am on April 17 and close at 4.30 pm on May 1.
The IPO, probably the first of its kind in Jamaica, will include 2.2 billion shares to meet applications from reserved share applicants, including public sector workers. It will be sold for a minimum 50 cents per share with a minimum subscription of $1,000 per shareholder.
