Keith Collister, Business Writer

Finance Minister Audley Shaw on his first mission to Washington, made a 'first class' presentation on Jamaica's economic plan to the multilaterals in Washington, says his deputy Don Wehby, that impressed the financiers.

The team returned Wednesday.

Shaw was "excellent in dealing with the multilaterals," said Wehby, Minister without Portfolio, who accompanied the Finance Minister on the trip that also included stops in New York to meet with the top investment banks - including Bear Stearns, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, and Citibank - and rating agencies.

Even there, the reactions were positive. "The new economic team comes across as serious and knowledgeable and engaging," said Carl Ross of investment bank Bear Stearns, Thursday.

Shaw's presentation in Washington to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Inter-American Development Bank, covered the need for a credible debt reduction plan to reduce the cost of debt servicing, reducing the cost of electricity, the reduction of bureaucracy through ensuring an efficient, highly motivated public sector, tax reform, and aggressive investment promotion designed to create jobs.

The multilaterals, for their part, noted Jamaica's pull back from their loan programmes, but said they were positive about doing business with the island in the future, said Wehby.

Not surprised

Ross said he was not surprised at the reception in Washington.

"The Jamaica story resonates very well in Washington because it is viewed as a country that is trying hard to do the right thing. The IMF, World Bank, and IDB have money to spend and lend, and Jamaica, though not a poor country, offers 'operating leverage' for these multilaterals," said Ross.

"What do we mean by this? There are at least three components. First, Jamaica's macroeconomic policy is reasonable an with good practises. As a result, economic policy discussions with the IMF and World Bank should be non-confrontational. Second, there is a solid investment pipeline already happening in Jamaica, so the return to higher (quality) spending on things like education, security, and public infrastructure could be very high. Finally, we must recognise that Jamaica's challenges, with which we are all too familiar, are large in relation to the capacity of the country to deal with them alone, so the multilateral institutions see opportunity to make a difference."

At their meetings, the team, which included Planning Institute's Dr. Wesley Hughes, repeatedly stressed that the primary objective of the new Government's economic strategy was to balance the budget through a combination of revenue and expenditure measures.

Wehby said the plan would be outlined in greater detail in the week ahead.

keithcollister@cwjamaica.com