By NAN Business Editor
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Feb. 11, 2022: Here are the top business news across the Caribbean this week:
Regional
Forbes’ 2022 list of billionaires show only two from the Caribbean. They are Rihanna, 33, with a net worth of US $1.7 billion but ranked at 1,811 globally, and Myron Wentz, who is listed as from St. Kitts & Nevis and worth $1.5 billion. He is ranked at 1,992 globally.
Michael Lee-Chin, who was born in Jamaica in the Caribbean is listed as a Canadian billionaire with a networth of US$1.4 billion and a rank globally of 2,175.
Guyana
Guyana’s vice president, Bharrah Jagdeo, has denied a stunning bribery allegations put to him on February 1st by US-based media outlet, VICE News. Jagdeo this week said that the man who allegedly made the claim has denied this.
He also cast the claims as an attempt to place him and Guyana at the centre of a China and US power feud.
Meanwhile,Beijing’s embassy in Guyana saidChinese companies operating there are following local laws and best practices. VICE’s claims which will be developed into a programme for broadcast centred on the contention that Chinese businessmen here had been claiming that bribes were taken by Jagdeo in return for moving projects along.
SAINT LUCIA
Saint Lucia’s tourism minister, this weke revealed several new hotels being build or set to open on the island. The Cabot Saint Lucia golf course, luxury condos and amenities is expected to be open this year, and later a 40-suite hotel to compliment.
A Courtyard Marriott Hotel is scheduled for completion in 2023 at Pointe Seraphine in Castries, adjacent to the Duty-Free shopping complex
Also set to come to the island is a Hyatt Corporation 345-room luxury Grand Hyatt, which is expected to open on the southwestern corner of the island in Choiseul, with views of the Piton while Saint Lucia Canelles Resort, a luxury resort, will feature two distinct hotel brands: Dreams and Secrets, managed by AMResorts
A 120 Suite Casa-en-Ba Beach Resort will soon announce its international Brand partner and is also expected to open by the end of 2022
Jamaica
The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) reports that, for the December 2021 period in Jamaica, there were remittance inflows of US$303.6 million, an increase of 7.5 per cent or US$21.2 million in comparison to December of 2020.
Overall, remittance inflows into the island for the January to December 2021 period totalled US$3.497 billion.
The bank also notes that the increase in gross remittance inflows resulted from a growth of 6.6 per cent in inflows via remittance companies, complemented by an increase in inflows via other remittances (which includes commercial banks) of 7.5 per cent for the month of December.
The BOJ reports that the largest source market of remittance flows to Jamaica for December 2021 was the USA. Remittances from that nation accounted for 69.4 per cent of total flows, up from 67.1 per cent recorded for December 2020.
Other source countries which contributed a notable share of remittances for the month were the UK at 11.1 per cent, followed by Canada and the Cayman Islands at 9.7 per cent and 6.2 per cent, respectively.
Bahamas
The Jamaica-based private equity firm, FirstRock Private Equity Limited, has acquired a 26 per cent stake in the local hand-made soap and candle company, My Ocean, under a deal brokered by the Bahamas-based company Simplified Lending.
“The minority equity position by a regional player in The Bahamas is evidence of the critical nature of access to capital. My Ocean, with its beautifully hand-crafted rolled soaps that remind you of the sea, is one of so many companies that have a great product, good management and perseverance,” said Simplified Lending chief executive officer, Robert Pantry.
“This deal was consecrated following many discussions demonstrating the viability of the Bahamian visitor market even at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.
Haiti
The Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH) says economic activity in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country has been marked by the deterioration of the business climate due to the deterioration of security conditions and prolonged periods of scarcity of fuel.
In its review of the first quarter of the 2021-22 fiscal year, October to December 2021, the BRH said that “this situation affected the production of goods and services and further reinforced the wait-and-see posture of economic agents”.
The BRH, which is the country’s central bank, said in the 14-page report that the agricultural sector has suffered from security conditions that have once again interrupted local supply chains, fuelling the negative expectations of economic growth.
Trinidad & Tobago
The Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Ltd (TPHL) has expressed “disappointment” at the “unfortunate downgrade” by the Us-based agency, Standards& Poor’s (S&P).
TPHL, is vested with the responsibility of managing the country’s oil and related assets. It has four subsidiaries – Heritage Petroleum Company Limited; Paria Fuel Trading Company Limited; Guaracara Refinery Limited and the state-owned oil company, Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago (Petrotrin).
In its ratings released on Tuesday, the agency made reference to two major concerns that led to the downgrade to ‘B+’ from ‘BB” citing the tight maturity profile of upcoming debt payments and the administrative default related to the delayed issuance of TPHL2019 consolidated audited financial statements.
Antigua & Barbuda
The Antigua and Barbuda government says a US$200 million bond it issued on the international market has been fully subscribed an provides “an incredible opportunity for the government to re-profile its debt.”
Prime Minister Gaston Browne, delivering the EC$1.64 billion (One Ec dollar=US$0.37 cents) budget to Parliament on Thursday, said that the bond with a 10 year, 4.5 per cent instrument registered on Euroclear, “is the first and largest bond of its kind issued by Antigua and Barbuda and it has been fully subscribed.
Browne said that the proceeds from this bond will be used to implement projects that will stimulate the economy and secure growth of eight per cent this year.
