The Jamaica Observer newspaper will use this year’s Business Leader Award programme to promote the island as a welcoming destination for foreign capital – turning the spotlight on those investments that have had a positive transformational impact on the local economy within the past decade or so.

Yesterday, Observer’s chairman, Gordon Butch Stewart told journalists that for 2009, his newspaper’s annual proprietary programme would focus on nominating foreign investors for the award — many of whom chose Jamaica despite having other options, and in spite of the many challenges they faced in doing business here.

“The Business Leader Foreign Investor Award is coming at a crucial time, given the current downturn in the global economy, the reduction in foreign direct investment to the region, the stagnation of remittance flows, and generally, the growing competition for scarce investment dollar,” said Stewart.

With yesterday’s announcement, the Observer Business Leader programme, which will culminate with the award presentation and banquet on Thursday, November 25, will, for the first time since its creation in 1996, not only include overseas investors, but will be dedicated exclusively to this group of individuals.

Stewart, speaking at the Beechwood Avenue, Kingston headquarters of the newspaper, explained that through public recognition of foreign investors’ contribution to Jamaica’s development, and by highlighting their stories of success in Jamaica, “the Observer hopes to send a message to other potential investors out there, but who may be on the fence, that there is reward for doing business in Jamaica”.

For this year’s programme, 10 foreign entrepreneurs will be nominated for the award — all of whom, through their investments here, have generated significant local employment, enabled further business creation by locals via backward integration or supply chain opportunities, and whose products or services have generally impacted the lives of ordinary Jamaicans or help to drive economic efficiencies.

To bring the project to fruition, and to generate public narrative around the value of overseas investment to Jamaica’s economic growth and development, the Observer enlisted the support of several institutions and high-achieving local entrepreneurs, either via direct sponsorship, or through a programme of public endorsement of foreign capital.

The two main sponsors are J Wray and Nephew Ltd through its Appleton brand; and Pan Caribbean Financial Services — both of which have been long-term sponsors of the award, and which too, as Stewart pointed out, have themselves been beneficiaries of overseas capital injection. The two sponsors were represented at the press conference by managers from their marketing departments: Ingrid Card for Pan Caribbean, and in the case of Appleton, Marilyn Bennett, and David Walton.

Additionally, two government agencies — JAMPRO, and Jamaica Tourist Board — both of which are heavily involved in investment promotion, joined 12 entrepreneurs, all of whom are former Nominees for the Business Leader Award, as endorsers of foreign investments, and of the Business Leader Foreign Investor programme.

JAMPRO was represented by its president, Sancia Templer, its vice-president of investment promotion, Claude Duncan, public relations manager, Mark Thomas, and Carol Straw, manager of investment facilitation services. The Jamaica Tourist Board was represented by the executive chairman John Lynch, and his senior assistant, Nicole Haughton.

Ten of the 12 former Business Leader Nominees who are endorsers of the programme attended the function. They are:

* Audrey Hinchcliffe, principal and founder of Manpower and Maintenance Services Ltd.

* Paul Hoo, chairman and co-founder of Supreme Ventures Ltd.

* Ryland Campbell, principal and chairman of Capital and Credit Financial Group, and year 2005 Business Leader.

* Gassan Azan, principal and founder of MegaMart, and Bashco Ltd.

* William Mahfood, managing director of Wisynco

* Daniel Melville, scion of the Melville family – the owners of Tropical Battery and Chukka Caribbean Adventures, who were named Business Leader Family last year.

* Fred Smith, principal of of Tropical Tours.

* Donna Duncan-Scott, a principal of Jamaica Money Market Brokers, and year 2001 Business Leader.

* Charles Ross, principal and managing director of Sterling Asset Management Ltd.

* Gary Peart, managing director of Mayberry Investments who represented its principal and chairman Chris Berry, who was overseas.

Absent were: Audrey Marks, the owner of Paymaster Jamaica who is now on assignment in Washington as Jamaica’s ambassador to the USA; and Patrick Casserly, the 2002 Business Leader who is in Europe and so was unable to make it to the event.

At yesterday’s function, Templer added the weight of her investment promotions agency to the discussion about the value of foreign direct investment to Jamaica, pointing out that the average annual inflow had soared to US$816 million between 2001 and 2009, up from US$246 during the preceding decade.

The JAMPRO president pointed out that tourism and information and communications technology (ICT) had emerged the leading sectors in attracting investment from overseas; and that in 2008, FDI in ICT was US$257 million, while tourism attracted investment US$196 million, with agriculture, manufacturing and distribution having a combined US$75 million. US$74 million was pumped into mining.

“JAMPRO is delighted to share in this significant occasion, and to offer our congratulations to the Jamaica Observer for the addition of this new, bold dimension to one of its premier products,” said Sampler. “The overseas-based companies that have injected significant capital and foreign exchange into the island now stand today as outstanding examples of how leadership, clarity of purpose, creativity and drive can lead to great success.”

Templer, in expressing the mantra of her investment promotion institution, underscored the remarkable convergence of interest with the Observer and on which the 2009 Business Leader programme is based. For example, she cited issues like linkages created between overseas investments and local copmpanies, in addition to direct employment, market diversification, good corporate citizenship as critical factors used by JAMPRO in determining the impact of an investment — factors that will also be important in the review process for the Business Leader Award nomination.

“We are therefore pleased to be associated with this initiative to recognize the best from among our investors, most, if not all of whom we have worked closely with to facilitate their settling down and growth in Jamaica,” she said.

Stewart, who, coincidentally, is also chairman of JAMPRO, stressed that the Business Leader Foreign Investor Award programme, would enable the Jamaica Observer newspaper “to play our part in telling foreign investors that Jamaica is open for business, that there are lots of opportunities here to make a good return on their investment, that Jamaica has a workforce that is trainable, a population that welcomes them, and that there is deep and wide institutional support for their presence on our island”.

The Observer chairman praised the endorsers of the programme, who he said “share our vision and conviction about the value of foreign investment to Jamaica’s development, (and) have agreed to partner with us to bring this programme to fruition”.

As part of the promotion leading up to the award in November, the endorsers will issue statements that the Observer newspaper will publish, and in which they will remind Jamaicans why foreign investment is good for the economy.

“We thank them not just for sharing our vision, but for joining forces with us and our sponsors to promote Jamaica as a good place for foreign capital,” said Stewart.

See the Sunday Observer for more photos of the press conference.