Chairman of the Diaspora Task Force of the Economic Growth Council (EGC) Dr David Panton says a Jamaican Diaspora bond will be launched later this year, or early next year, in which Jamaicans in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada can participate.

Dr Panton made the disclosure during an update about the progress of initiatives being undertaken by the EGC at the Jamaica 55 Diaspora 2017 Conference on the second day of the conference last week..

“We have started that process and we feel fairly confident that we will be able to have a bond which we can launch if not later this year, then certainly in early next year,” he said.

Addressing the Diaspora Growth Forum session organised by the Jamaica National Group, Dr Panton said that bonds were being used by other countries, such as Israel, and had proven to be a successful method of engaging the Diaspora in investing in their homeland.

“…They (the Jewish Diaspora) did this because of their commitment to the State of Israel…on which they wanted to make a tremendous impact. Therefore, I believe that approach of setting up an entity, such as…the Jamaican Bond Agency, as it were, could make a significant impact on our country,” he said, noting that the Jamaican Diaspora was investing in Jamaica through remittances of some US$2.2 billion a year.

“Jamaicans are not poor; they are sending back a lot of money to Jamaica. They clearly have the capital; however, the question is how do we incentivise the members of the Jamaican Diaspora to effectively participate and engage in Jamaica,” he suggested.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/diaspora-bond-to-be-launched-soon-says-david-panton_106415