SOUTH FLORIDA – David Mullings, founder, chairman, and CEO of Blue Mahoe Capital, announced plans to offer the first bond targeted to the Jamaican Diaspora, which aims to open in August 2024. The bond will be offered to members of the Diaspora in the USA, UK and Canada with a fixed return of 8% per year for five (5) years. He made the announcement during his presentation at the 10th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference on Monday, June 17, 2024, at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James.
The international investor explained that the government of Jamaica (GOJ) had previously considered offering a diaspora bond but had faced various hurdles over the years. Through prudent fiscal policies, successive administrations have successfully reduced Jamaica’s debt-to-GDP by around 50 percentage points in 12 years to 72% and is heading to 60%.
Mullings pointed out that Jamaica now stands as a case study on how countries can reduce their national debt bringing to bear a study conducted by Stanford and UC Berkeley professors Peter Blair Henry, Serkan Arslanalp and Barry Eichengreen, who published the paper ‘Sustained debt reduction: The Jamaica exception’ in March 2024.
Mullings, who served as the first Future Leaders Representative for the USA on the Jamaica Diaspora Advisory Board, the predecessor to the current Global Jamaica Diaspora Council, revealed that the long-discussed diaspora bond is finally becoming a reality thanks to the private sector. Blue Mahoe Capital will now provide a unique
opportunity for the Jamaican Diaspora to contribute to the national development.
“This Diaspora-focused Bond is a response to calls from many overseas Jamaicans for investment instruments that they could participate in to directly support Jamaica’s progress while earning a reasonable return like the approach of Israel. This debt instrument will allow the Jamaican Diaspora to play a significant role in Jamaica’s growth and development,” Mullings explained.
Seize the Opportunity
Mullings urged Jamaicans abroad to seize the opportunity to invest in Jamaica by participating in the upcoming offer. He painted a picture of Jamaica’s current economic climate as a “goldilocks moment”, with the country experiencing the perfect climate for investment.
“The country is not growing too fast or too slow. It is experiencing the right range of growth,” he stated. He warned that if the Jamaican Diaspora does not act now, they risk missing out on the growth Jamaica is poised to achieve in the coming years. “If you don’t invest today, you will miss out on the growth Jamaica will accomplish over the next five to fifteen years, so the time to invest is right now,” he charged the conference delegates.
Blue Mahoe Capital, Inc. SEC Qualification
He encouraged the Jamaica Diaspora community to learn about the companies they invest in and understand the investment vehicles. Blue Mahoe Capital, Inc. received SEC qualification for its Regulation CF public offering of stock last month, making it the first US company qualified to raise funds from US retail investors to invest in the
Caribbean. As soon as it is qualified, the company plans to list on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
He further explained that Blue Mahoe Capital is open to issuing more bonds that will bring cheaper capital to the Jamaican market for businesses and public-private partnerships.
Mullings underscored the importance of public-private partnerships, “We cannot depend on the government alone to pay for upgrades to security, healthcare, infrastructure, housing and education. Companies like Blue Mahoe Capital have the capacity to issue bonds to raise funds and then to support infrastructure development and other programmes over the long term,” he explained.
Attracting Investment in Jamaica
The CEO, who shared the stage with the Managing Director of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, Dr. Marlene Street-Forrest, responded to the question raised by business journalist and session moderator Al Edwards about the government’s role in attracting investment in Jamaica, “The government’s job is to create the environment
to attract the capital and to ensure that the economy is one that the Jamaica diaspora wants to invest in,” he shared. The investor encouraged the government to continue the roadshows to increase interest in Jamaica. He vowed to continue his appearances in US financial media, having recently appeared on Schwab Talks at the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ TradeTalks.
Mullings, who just recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with construction and development company Entrepreneurial Partners to finance the construction of 1,400 affordable houses over the next three years, highlighted other companies Blue Mahoe Capital is working with, such as KLE Group, in which they are
the 10th largest shareholder, Sprint Financial Services, led by Christopher Barrett, Seed, led by Michael Lee-Chin Jr, Mapex Group, headed by Josef Powell, Caribshopper, led by Kadion Preston and Pocmi Inc led by Melissa Powell.
Mullings ended his lunch session presentation by hosting a drawing in which an attendee won a Puma shoe autographed by national icon Usain Bolt.
