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Home / Jamaica eyes participation in Namibia’s banking sector
Jamaica eyes participation in Namibia’s banking sector
2018-07-25Staff Report 2 Edgar Brandt WINDHOEK– Jamaica has expressed interest in Namibia’s banking sector with the Jamaican Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, saying he is eager to see banking institutions from his country develop and participate in the local financial services sphere. Holness arrived in Namibia on Sunday for a three-day visit on the invitation of President Hage Geingob. The visiting Jamaican delegation, led by Holness, met with representatives of the Namibian business community for a luncheon at the Hilton Hotel on Monday afternoon. The well-attended luncheon was hosted in honour of the visiting prime minister to accord him an opportunity to address the Namibia business community on trade and business opportunities in Jamaica. At the event Holness emphasized that Jamaica has many opportunities available in sectors such as infrastructure development, information and communication technology (ICT), the knowledge economy, logistics, tourism and finance. He further commented that there is no existing trade between Namibia and Jamaica but encouraged the local business community to visit his country and experience first-hand the prospects regarding numerous trade and investment opportunities that exist in Jamaica. “I believe there are great opportunities in the banking sector because Jamaica has a fairly well-developed banking sector, and we would like to have Jamaican investors coming into Namibia to develop and participate in your banking sector,” said Holness when meeting President Geingob at State House on Monday. Besides the banking sector, Holness noted that opportunities exist in numerous sectors where knowledge exchange and skills transfers could take place. Compared to other Caribbean countries, Jamaica’s banking sector is one of the most advanced, particularly in its implementation of the Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision, which are the de facto minimum standard for sound prudential regulation and supervision of banks and banking systems. Having expanded at a considerable rate over the past decade, financial services in Jamaica have done a great deal to stabilise the economy’s more troubled areas. Nowhere else is the contribution more significant than in banking, where the landscape has undergone quite an extraordinary transformation and promised to pull lesser performers out of the doldrums. Meanwhile, according to State House Press Secretary Alfredo Hengari, other areas earmarked for broader cooperation with Jamaica include fisheries, education, logistics, tourism and fisheries. During Monday’s meeting with Geingob, Holness also expressed gratitude to the Namibian government for waiving visa requirements for Jamaicans visiting Namibia and noted that Jamaica had extended the same courtesy to Namibians visiting Jamaica. 2018-07-25Staff Report 2
