KINGSTON, Jamaica – JAMAICA'S harsh experience with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to get a new $750 million loan, signals equally harsh conditions for many Caribbean countries in the not too distant future. The burden of the tough conditions placed on Jamaica by the IMF falls entirely on the Jamaican people and Jamaican businesses. Under a National Debt Exchange Offer (NDX), Jamaican holders of Government debt instruments are expected to exchange such instruments for new ones that, in some cases, will have a lower value and in all cases will mature over a longer period at reduced rates of interest.
