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▪ The Government of the British Virgin Islands’ rating reaffirmed at CariAA-

▪ Venture Credit Union Co-operative Society Limited’s rating reaffirmed at CariBBB-

▪ Eastern Credit Union Co-operative Society Limited’s rating reaffirmed at CariBBB-

▪ Trinidad and Tobago Unit Trust Corporation’s initial rating assigned at CariAA

▪ Massy Holdings Ltd. rating reaffirmed at CariAA+

▪ Sagicor Life Jamaica Limited’s rating reaffirmed at jmAAA

▪ National Flour Mills Limited’s rating reaffirmed at CariA-

▪ HMB Limited’s proposed collateralised mortgage obligation rating assigned at CariAA- (SO)

▪ NCB Capital Markets (Barbados) Limited’s initial rating assigned at CariBBB-

▪ Government of Barbados’s local currency rating upgraded to CariBB

▪ PanJam Investment Limited’s initial rating assigned at CariBBB+

▪ Saint Lucia Electricity Services Limited’s rating reaffirmed at CariBBB ▪ TSTT’s existing rating reaffirmed and new proposed bond issue rating assigned at CariA ▪ Jamaica Public Service Company Limited’s initial rating assigned at CariBBB+

OUR UPCOMING WORKSHOPS!

Credit Report Writing Skills 27th May 2019 Trinidad

Benefits of a CariCRIS Rating to a Credit Union:

Latest Rating Actions by CariCRIS

• Demonstrate to members the institution’s financial strength and

soundness

• Demonstrate to members its investing capabilities

• Employ it as a marketing tool to attract new members

DATE

WORKSHOP

COUNTRY

Please visit our website at www.caricris.com for the detailed Rationales on these and other ratings

CariCRIS’ credit ratings and daily Newswire can also be found on the Bloomberg Professional Service.

REGIONAL

Trinidad and Tobago

Govt collects $437m in NIS arrears

The Government collected $437 million in arrears of NIS contributions in the

last financial year.

Trinidad Cement Ltd in front

Overall stock market activity yesterday resulted from trading in 18

securities of which nine advanced, six declined and three traded firm.

JMMB advises its clients: Don't take up TPHL offer

Jamaican financial services company, JMMB is advising its clients not to

accept the offer made by Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Ltd (TPHL) to

exchange their 2019 and 2022 Petrotrin bonds for new bonds maturing in

2026 and paying annual interest of 9.75 per cent.

Republic raises US$442m to fund expansion

Republic Financial Holdings Ltd, (RFHL) the holding company of Republic

Bank, has borrowed a total of US$442 million in three transactions in the

last three months to finance the T& T bank's expansion, by the acquisition

of banking operations in ten Caribbean countries and through organic

growth.

Barbados

Pay day

As of today, pensioners and other holders of Government paper will start

getting monthly payments as Government seeks to reduce its national

debt.

Tank plan tottering

It appears the Barbados Water Authority’s (BWA) attempts to make rural

Barbadians owners of their own water tanks have fallen flat.

Barbadians repaying trust loan

Barbadians appear to be keeping up with loan payments to the Trust

Loan Fund, Government’s $10 million financial lifeline for startup

businesses.

Barbados Continued

New owners for Tridents

Embattled Indian business tycoon Vijay Mallya will not have ownership of

Barbados Tridents for the upcoming Caribbean Premier League (CPL)

season, organisers said here on Tuesday.

Firms eye ResLife’s medical business

Five firms are vying for the medical insurance portfolio of Resolution Life

Insurance Company Limited (ResLife), and by June one of them is to be

chosen.

Jamaica

$40b of state funds still held by commercial banks - IMF urges active

monitoring to guard against misuse

Nine years after the Jamaican Government put in place legislation to

prevent leakage of taxpayers’ funds by creating a single account at the

Bank of Jamaica, more than $40 billion of the state’s resources are still

being held in commercial banks.

Several entities under agriculture ministry to be transformed

SEVERAL entities that fall under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce,

Agriculture, and Fisheries will be transformed and modernised.

$295m approved for redevelopment of Bodles Research Station

THE Government has budgeted $295 million to continue the

redevelopment programme at the Bodles Research Station.

Scotia merges King Street and Scotia Centre branches

Effective Friday, May 17, Scotiabank will be merging operations at its King

Street and Scotiabank Centre (Duke and Port Royal Streets) branches in

downtown Kingston.

PM says Jamaica Trade Information Portal will improve ease of doing

business

Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the Jamaica Trade Information Portal

will significantly improve the ease of doing business in the country, while

creating an environment that facilitates greater trading opportunities.

Sygnus to create property fund

Sygnus Credit Investments, SCI, is looking to real estate and going beyond

Jamaica’s boundaries to make more money for its investors.

Jamaica Continued

Sagicor Jamaica in M&A mode

Year two of Christopher Zacca’s tenure as president and CEO of Sagicor

Group Jamaica brought record profit amid a restructuring of the

accounting for resort investment Playa.

CHEC-mate!

CHINA Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) is to spend just over $1

billion to cover the planning and development cost for the long-proposed

Naggo Head Technology Park in Portmore, St Catherine, and the Morant

Bay Urban Centre in St Thomas.

Union serves 72-hour strike notice on JPS

The Union of Clerical, Administrative and Supervisory Employees (UCASE)

says it has served a 72-hour strike notice on the Jamaica Public Service

Company (JPS) following a breakdown in wage and fringe benefits

negotiations.

Police destroy $2.6 billion worth of counterfeit goods

The police Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Division (C-TOC) today

destroyed just over $2.6 billion worth of counterfeit goods that were seized

between 2012 and last year.

Antigua and Barbuda

CEO says LIAT prevailing despite money woes

The regional airline, LIAT, has continued to strive despite its financial

difficulties and rumors of a possible shutdown, and has even managed to

maintain an on-time performance rate near the industry standard of 85

percent.

The Bahamas

‘We Won’t Use Up $108m Headroom’

The Ministry of Finance’s top official yesterday voiced optimism that the

government will not squander the “$108m headroom” created by the

fiscal third quarter’s $40m budget surplus.

The Bahamas Continued

Govt ‘Feeling Pretty Good’ With Vat Collection At 56%

The government was yesterday said to be “feeling pretty good” about

VAT’s performance despite collecting just 55.6 percent of the 2018-2019

full-year forecast during the first nine months.

$7.8m Caught in Payment Frauds

Some $7.8m worth of payment fraud complaints were made in 2018, the

Central Bank of The Bahamas has revealed, with debit cards accounting

for almost 60 percent of cases.

Dominica

Govt approves small business loan facility, de-blacklisting legislation

Small and medium size enterprises in Dominica stand to benefit from a

new loan facility amounting to over $5 million.

Panama

Panama gets 2nd rating boost

Panama got another rating boost on Monday, April 29 from the rating

agency Standard & Poor's Global Rating which improved the country’s

sovereign rating from BBB to BBB +.

St. Kitts and Nevis

Federal Government of St. Kitts and Nevis will provide over $1 million in

emergency funding support to LIAT

At a meeting of the Federal Cabinet on Saturday (April 27th, 2019), the

decision was made for the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis to provide

emergency funding support of over EC $1 million to LIAT, the Caribbean

airline headquartered in Antigua.

INTERNATIONAL

United States

Futures bounce as investors cheer Apple results

U.S. stock index futures jumped on Wednesday, pointing to a strong open

for Wall Street as Apple Inc’s stellar results and forecast allayed concerns

about slowing growth in corporate profits.

China, U.S. hold 'productive' trade talks in Beijing

China and the United States held “productive” trade talks in Beijing on

Wednesday and will continue discussions in Washington next week, U.S.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, as the two try to end their trade

war.

Apple magic extends global equities' months-long rally

Global equities were higher on Wednesday, extending the global equity

market rally into a fifth month as investors cheered Apple’s strong results

and the U.S. dollar dipped ahead of a policy statement from the Federal

Reserve.

U.S. may lose borrowing authority in second half of 2019: Treasury

The U.S. government will have to stop borrowing money between July and

December if Washington doesn’t agree to raise a legal restriction on

public debt, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.

United Kingdom

Esports organization Fnatic raises $19 million for big expansion

Fnatic, the London-based global esports team owner, has raised $19

million in new funding and restructured its leadership as it plans a major

expansion, the company said on Wednesday.

GSK first-quarter beats estimates on shingles vaccine surge

GlaxoSmithKline Plc reported better-than-expected first-quarter revenue

and earnings on Wednesday, as sales of the British drugmaker’s fast-

growing shingles vaccine surged another 60 percent.

United Kingdom Continued

Britain reviews market for financial advice

Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority has begun a review of whether

consumers are getting value for money from financial advice at a time of

rapid changes in pensions and other products.

China

China draws up e-cigarette regulations, gives no date for adoption

China, the world’s biggest tobacco producer and consumer, has drawn

up standards for regulating e-cigarettes, it said in a filing published by the

World Trade Organization on Wednesday, without specifying any date for

adoption of the rules.

Global

Euro builds on recovery as dollar pauses during Fed meet

The euro made further gains on Wednesday as dollar bulls paused before

the end of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting.

Oil steady on swelling U.S. stockpiles, Venezuela uncertainty

Oil prices were largely steady on Wednesday as an intensifying crisis in

Venezuela along with tightened U.S. sanctions on Iran partly offset the

impact of an unexpected rise in U.S. crude inventories.

Esports organization Fnatic raises $19 million for big expansion Wednesday 1st May, 2019 – Reuters

Fnatic, the London-based global esports team owner, has raised $19

million in new funding and restructured its leadership as it plans a major

expansion, the company said on Wednesday.

The company plans to further expand in Asia and North America and

grow from a headcount of 150 people now to 1,000 in the next five years,

founder Sam Mathews told Reuters.

It will use the investments to strengthen its teams with new nutrition and

psychology programs, and physical training coaches for players - lessons

Mathews said he took from the British cycling team.

It also plans to launch a new line of audio equipment, particularly

headsets.

Esports - professional video game competitions that are watched by

throngs of fans live and online - have been around for over a decade but

have seen audiences and sponsorships grow significantly in the last

couple of years.

It has also attracted big brands looking to advertise to young fans and

sponsor teams and stars, including Walt Disney Co, Hershey Co and

Toyota Motor Corp.

Global esports revenue will hit $1.1 billion in 2019, up 27 percent since last

year amid an increase in advertising, sponsorship and media rights to

competitive video gaming, according to the gaming analytics firm

Newzoo.

Esports will be one of “the most valuable sports in the next 10 years,”

Mathews said.

Fnatic, one of the oldest and largest teams in global esports, has won

major titles in several games, including League of Legends and Counter-

Strike. It currently fields teams in 10 different games and also sells its own

line of gear and clothing.

Mathews started Fnatic in 2004 with $40,000 in family funds and help from

his mother, Anne.

The company previously raised about $7.5 million in financing, including

from Raptor Group Holdings, founded by investment manager Jim

Pallotta, co-owner of the Boston Celtics professional basketball team.

In 2015, Fnatic acquired the gaming equipment maker FUNC in order to

produce its own gear, including keyboards and mice, which are now sold

in over 400 Best Buy stores in the United States.

The new investment round was led by tech entrepreneur Lev Leviev of

LVL1 Group, who also joins the board, Fnatic said in a statement.

The investment round also includes British venture capital firm Beringea,

Hong Kong private equity firm BlackPine, London-based investment firm

Unbound and venture capitalist Joi Ito, who is also director of the MIT

Media Lab.

Under the new leadership structure, Mathews will be chief executive. Nick

Fry, former CEO of the Mercedes AMG Formula One motor racing team,

returns to Fnatic as chairman, while Glen Calvert, founder of advertising

firm Affectv, was appointed chief operating officer.

<< Back to news headlines >>

GSK first-quarter beats estimates on shingles vaccine surge Wednesday 1st May, 2019 – Reuters

GlaxoSmithKline Plc reported better-than-expected first-quarter revenue

and earnings on Wednesday, as sales of the British drugmaker’s fast-

growing shingles vaccine surged another 60 percent.

Sales of Shingrix, the vaccine launched in 2017, were 357 million pounds in

the first quarter, up 61.5 percent from a fourth quarter in which they also

doubled.

That pushed GSK’s turnover to 7.66 billion pounds ($10 billion) in the

quarter from 7.22 billion pounds a year earlier and above a company-

provided consensus of analysts’ forecasts of 7.56 billion pounds.

Adjusted operating profit was 30.1 pence per share in the quarter versus

expectations of 26.1 pence per share.

“We have made a strong start to 2019, which is an important year of

execution for GSK, with growth in sales, operating margins and earnings

per share in Q1, in line with our expectations,” Chief Executive Emma

Walmsley said in a statement.

Since taking over in April 2017, Walmsley has been streamlining GSK’s

operations and spinning off or selling units including its consumer health

division to focus on expanding its drug pipeline - notably for cancer and

HIV medicines - and developing vaccines.

The company, which backed its 2019 forecast of a decline in adjusted

earnings of 5 to 9 percent, said its quarterly earnings were hurt by

continuing price pressure and other investments in promotional product

support, particularly for new launches.

<< Back to news headlines >>

Britain reviews market for financial advice Wednesday 1st May, 2019 – Reuters

Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority has begun a review of whether

consumers are getting value for money from financial advice at a time of

rapid changes in pensions and other products.

The agency will assess whether changes made since 2012, including the

retail distribution review and the financial advice market review, need

updating. It will publish its findings in 2020.

“Consumers can struggle to assess the cost of advice and may overpay

for services which they do not need,” the FCA said in its consultation

paper.

Hugh Savill, director of regulation at the Association of British Insurers, said

the advice market is not working for most people.

“The measures proposed in the financial advice market review were

supposed to lower costs and narrow the advice gap, but this has not

materialized in reality,” Savill said.

Tom McPhail, head of policy at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the nature of

financial advice was moving away from a recurring relationship with

regular fees to one where people buy advice to address specific issues.

Previous reviews have focused on toughening qualifications for advisors

and curbing commissions that create a conflict of interest.

<< Back to news headlines >>

Futures bounce as investors cheer Apple results Wednesday 1st May, 2019 – Reuters

U.S. stock index futures jumped on Wednesday, pointing to a strong open

for Wall Street as Apple Inc’s stellar results and forecast allayed concerns

about slowing growth in corporate profits.

Shares of the iPhone maker jumped 5.8% in premarket trading after it said

sales in China were steadying and touted how rising demand for its

services and accessories helped offset a record drop in iPhone revenue.

The company also announced plans for a new $75 billion share buyback

and bumped up its cash dividend by 5%.

The S&P 500 index clocked another record high close on Tuesday and

registered its best four-month rally in nearly nine years.

Analysts are now more optimistic on first-quarter earnings growth and

expect a 0.7% rise compared with a 2% fall estimated at the beginning of

April, according to Refinitiv data.

Besides a largely better-than-expected earnings season, recent gains in

shares have also been powered by positive economic data, a dovish

Federal Reserve and hints of progress in U.S.-China trade talks.

Meanwhile, the Fed, which will end its two-day meeting later in the day, is

largely expected to keep borrowing costs unchanged and maintain a

‘patient’ monetary policy stance, despite President Donald Trump’s call to

cut interest rates.

At 7:10 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 71 points, or 0.27%. S&P 500 e-minis

were up 8.5 points, or 0.29% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 51.75 points,

or 0.66%.

Among other stocks, Advanced Micro Devices Inc jumped 5.1% after the

chipmaker’s quarterly revenue and profit beat Wall Street estimates as it

sold more chips in data centers and servers. Other chip stocks also rose

with Nvidia Corp, Qualcomm Inc and Micron Technology Inc up between

1% and 1.6%.

CVS Health Corp added 4.5% after the drugstore chain operator and

pharmacy benefits manager raised its full-year profit forecast after

reporting a rise in quarterly profit.

Shares of Wynn Resorts Ltd gained 1.8% after Massachusetts gaming

regulators allowed the casino operator to keep the license for its new

casino near Boston with a $35 million fine.

Apart from earnings reports, investors will also focus on U.S.-China trade

talks. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the two countries held

“productive” talks in Beijing on Wednesday and will continue discussions in

Washington next week.

On the data front, ADP’s national employment data for April, due at 8:15

am ET, will likely show an addition of 180,000 jobs, up from 129,000 jobs in

March.

Another set of data from the Institute of Supply Management is expected

to show manufacturing PMI edged lower to 55.0 in April from 55.3 in

March.

<< Back to news headlines >>

China, U.S. hold 'productive' trade talks in Beijing Wednesday 1st May, 2019 – Reuters

China and the United States held “productive” trade talks in Beijing on

Wednesday and will continue discussions in Washington next week, U.S.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, as the two try to end their trade

war.

Mnuchin, along with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, held a

day of discussions, before Chinese Vice Premier Liu He goes to

Washington next week for another round of talks in what could be the

end game for negotiations.

“Ambassador Lighthizer and I just concluded productive meetings with

China’s Vice Premier Liu He. We will continue our talks in Washington, D.C.

next week,” Mnuchin wrote on his Twitter account. He gave no details.

The three men appeared before cameras at the end of their talks at a

state guest house in Beijing, chatting amiably amongst themselves but did

not speak to reporters.

Liu had entertained his U.S. guests on Tuesday night just after they arrived

in the Chinese capital.

“We did. We had a nice working dinner, thank you,” Mnuchin told

reporters at his Beijing hotel earlier on Wednesday, when asked if he had

met with Liu on Tuesday. He did not elaborate.

Beijing and Washington have cited progress on issues including

intellectual property and forced technology transfer to help end a

conflict marked by tit-for-tat tariffs that have cost both sides billions of

dollars, disrupted supply chains and roiled financial markets.

But U.S. officials say privately that an enforcement mechanism for a deal

and timelines for lifting tariffs are sticking points.

Chinese officials have also acknowledged that they view the

enforcement mechanism as crucial, but say that it must work two ways

and cannot put restraints only on China.

In Washington, people familiar with the talks say that the question of

whether and when U.S. tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods will

be removed will probably be among the last issues to be resolved. U.S.

President Donald Trump has said that he may keep some tariffs on

Chinese goods for a “substantial period”.

The United States has also been pressing China to further open up its

market to U.S. firms. China has repeatedly pledged to continue reforms

and make it easier for foreign companies to operate in the country.

In comments published in Wednesday, China’s top banking and

insurance regulator said the government will further open up its banking

and insurance sectors.

<< Back to news headlines >>

Apple magic extends global equities' months-long rally Wednesday 1st May, 2019 – Reuters

Global equities were higher on Wednesday, extending the global equity

market rally into a fifth month as investors cheered Apple’s strong results

and the U.S. dollar dipped ahead of a policy statement from the Federal

Reserve.

MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 47 countries, was up 0.1

percent at 0858 GMT after rising to its highest since early October,

although May Day holidays across Asia and Europe meant trading was

thinner than usual.

In a sign of the growing appetite for riskier assets, Australian shares ended

just shy of an 11-year peak and London’s blue chip FTSE 100 was up 0.2

percent after solid earnings from supermarket chain Sainsbury’s. [.L]

CME E-Mini S&P 500 Futures were at record highs and Nasdaq futures were

up 0.7 percent, suggesting Wall Street is poised for more gains after hitting

another record close overnight fueled by optimism about first quarter

earnings.

Apple shares rallied after the closing bell as the iPhone maker delivered

forcecast-beating numbers that soothed worries about a prolonged

weakness in global corporate results.

There was plenty to keep investors who were at their desks occupied:

Beijing and Washington began their latest talks aimed at ending a bitter

trade war and Fed chairman Jerome Powell was due to speak later

following the central bank’s two-day policy meeting.

The U.S. dollar against a basket of six major currencies was down slightly,

trading in a tight range after hitting a one-week low ahead of the Fed

news.

“The risk for this Fed meeting is that, unless the FOMC meets the market’s

dovish expectation for their stance, we would expect another leg higher

in USD,” Mizuho strategists said in a note.

The Fed is largely expected to leave U.S. borrowing costs unchanged as it

seeks to balance solid economic growth against low inflation.

A call from U.S. President Donald Trump for a cut in interest rates will likely

be unheeded when the results of the Fed’s two-day meeting are

released, but the unorthodox comments made on Twitter will increase

focus on Powell at his press conference shortly after.

CAUTION FOR MAY

Sentiment has improved along with global economic data - most recently

from the euro-zone where data on Tuesday showed Q1 growth topped

expectations.

But there was some caution ahead of the summer lull with investors

questioning how much longer the rally across global equities can last with

better economic data and a stabilization in earnings priced in.

“Historically the more difficult half of the year starts today,” said Ian

Williams, economics and strategy research analyst at Peel Hunt. “The next

six months will present plenty of geo-political challenges.”

Elsewhere, commodities were mixed with base metals prices rising on

hopes of a breakthrough in the U.S.-China talks, while crude oil prices

eased as data showed a rise in U.S. inventories. [MET/L] [O/R]

Brent crude oil futures were at $71.55 per barrel, down 0.8 percent, while

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 1.1 percent at

$63.23 per barrel.

<< Back to news headlines >>

U.S. may lose borrowing authority in second half of 2019: Treasury Wednesday 1st May, 2019 – Reuters

The U.S. government will have to stop borrowing money between July and

December if Washington doesn’t agree to raise a legal restriction on

public debt, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.

Hitting that so-called “debt ceiling” could trigger a U.S. default on its debt

and an immediate recession, a risk that has become a regular facet of

U.S. politics over the last decade.

The current debt limit was set in March. Treasury has been able to

continue borrowing from investors by using accounting measures such as

limiting government payments to public sector retirement funds.

“Treasury expects that the extraordinary measures will be exhausted

sometime in the second half of 2019,” Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary

Brian Smith said in a statement.

The debt ceiling is already affecting how the government funds itself.

Issuance of Treasury bills - short-term debt - is expected to gradually

decline over the second quarter due to debt ceiling constraints, Smith

said.

Treasury said it was holding issuance size steady for auctions of debt

coupons during the third quarter and that it anticipates no changes in the

following three-month period either.

<< Back to news headlines >>

Euro builds on recovery as dollar pauses during Fed meet Wednesday 1st May, 2019 – Reuters

The euro made further gains on Wednesday as dollar bulls paused before

the end of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting.

Trading was thin with holidays in much of Asia and Europe and most

currency pairs traded within tight ranges, although the New Zealand

dollar dropped heavily in Asian trading after weak jobs data heightened

expectations interest rates would fall.

The Fed meeting comes after strong U.S. economic data last month

pushed the dollar to a two-year high while hurting the euro, where

concerns about a slowdown and underperformance in the region’s

economy had been growing.

Relatively strong economic growth data in the euro zone on Tuesday,

however, prompted some short covering from hedge funds that have

been betting against the single currency, lifting the euro above $1.12.

The euro added to those gains on Wednesday, rising 0.2 percent to

$1.1240, its highest since April 23.

The dollar slipped in London trading, with the index down 0.1 percent at

97.354, although not everyone thinks the greenback’s weakness will

persist.

“The risk for this Fed meeting is that, unless the FOMC meets the market’s

dovish expectation for their stance, we would expect another leg higher

in USD,” Mizuho strategists said.

The day’s big mover was the New Zealand dollar, which fell half a percent

after data showed employment unexpectedly fell in the March quarter,

although the jobless rate dropped to 4.2 percent.

Markets responded by betting a rate cut was more likely. The Reserve

Bank of New Zealand, which holds a policy meeting next week, has

already said its next move was likely to be down.

The kiwi recovered from earlier lows and was last down 0.2 percent at

$0.6662.

The Australian dollar gained 0.1 percent to $0.7059.

Accommodative monetary policy throughout much of the world has kept

volatility contained across financial markets and demand for riskier assets

elevated.

“Currencies benefiting from strong global growth combined with low

inflation pressures have caught a bid,” Morgan Stanley analysts said,

listing the pound and the Indian rupee as both countries are dependent

on capital inflows to fund their current account deficits.

Sterling extended its rally to hit a new two-week high, supported by

growing optimism that the ruling Conservative and opposition Labour

parties can break the Brexit deadlock in their negotiations over how to

leave the European Union.

The pound rose 0.3 percent to $1.3075, leaving it up 1.7 percent since

Monday. The Bank of England holds its policy meeting on Thursday, where

it is expected to keep rates unchanged.

The Japanese yen strengthened 0.1 percent to 111.31 yen per dollar in

quiet trading. Japanese markets are closed for a string of public holidays.

<< Back to news headlines >>

Oil steady on swelling U.S. stockpiles, Venezuela uncertainty Wednesday 1st May, 2019 – Reuters

Oil prices were largely steady on Wednesday as an intensifying crisis in

Venezuela along with tightened U.S. sanctions on Iran partly offset the

impact of an unexpected rise in U.S. crude inventories.

Brent crude oil futures were at $72.14 per barrel at 1111 GMT, up 8 cents or

0.11 percent from their last close.

U.S. crude futures were down 28 cents or 0.44 percent at $63.63 per barrel.

Trading was thin as May 1 is a holiday in many markets.

U.S. crude stocks rose by 6.8 million barrels to 466.4 million barrels in the

week to April 26, the American Petroleum Institute (API), an industry group,

said on Tuesday.

The figure far outstripped analysts’ expectations of an increase of just 1.5

million barrels.

Markets also keenly watched Venezuela, where opposition leader Juan

Guaido called for an uprising against President Nicolas Maduro. Many

observers fear this could lead to escalating violence and further

disruptions to crude supply.

The unrest adds to a range of fluid geopolitical factors which have been

affecting oil prices in recent months.

“There have been wild cards aplenty for the oil markets. The seemingly

perennial U.S.-China trade spat, the extent of Venezuela’s supply woes

and the Iran factor are just some”, PVM Oil Associates strategist Stephen

Brennock said.

“Yet these are shaking off their wildcard status and instead are

transitioning into known-knowns”, Brennock added, citing widespread

hopes that the two largest economies will soon resolve their dispute and a

view that U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela were “largely baked into

prices”.

Oil markets have already tightened this year due to supply cuts led by the

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as well as the

sanctions on Caracas and Tehran.

Washington is set to revoke waivers for select countries to import Iranian oil

on Wednesday and says it aims to drive down Iran’s crude exports to zero,

but it remains unclear whether Iran’s top oil customer China will comply.

OPEC meets in June to discuss production policy. While Washington has

demanded the group increase output to make up for the shortfall from

Iran, OPEC’s de facto leader Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday it had no

immediate plan to do so.

“Recent comments from (Saudi Energy Minister Khalid) al-Falih confirm our

view that the kingdom will respond cautiously with other oil producers and

not preemptively ramp up production,” said Giovanni Staunovo, analyst

at UBS in Zurich.

<< Back to news headlines >>

China draws up e-cigarette regulations, gives no date for adoption Wednesday 1st May, 2019 – Reuters

China, the world’s biggest tobacco producer and consumer, has drawn

up standards for regulating e-cigarettes, it said in a filing published by the

World Trade Organization on Wednesday, without specifying any date for

adoption of the rules.

“This standard specifies the terms and definitions, technical requirements,

test methods, packaging, identification, instructions, storage and

transportation of electronic cigarette,” the filing said.

The technical standards were set out in a 68-page attachment in Chinese.

<< Back to news headlines >>

Govt collects $437m in NIS arrears Wednesday 1st May, 2019 – Trinidad Express Newspaper

The Government collected $437 million in arrears of NIS contributions in the

last financial year.

So said Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Alyson West in response to a

question in the Senate yesterday about reports that 26,000 persons had

dropped out of the database of the National Insurance Board (NIB). She

said the NIB's compliance effort would be intensified in the future but will

not be sufficient to offset the impact of the ageing population.

West said the growing aging population was responsible for the widening

gap between the NIB's expenditure in benefits and its income from

contributions.

She noted that the growing number of persons qualifying for pension as a

result of increasing life expectancy, along with declining fertility rates and

changes in the macroeconomic environment, posed challenges to the

NIB. However she said the NIB remained committed to maximising its

contribution collection.

'Employers who are in breach of the law by their non-payment of NIS on

behalf of their employees will remain a key focus of the NIB,' she said,

noting that $437 million in arrears was collected last financial year. '

She said Government was conducting 'public sensitisation and national

dialogue' on proposals for enhancing the long-term sustainability of the

National Insurance System.

These proposals were made by the 9 and 10 Actuarial Reviews. They are

increases in the contribution rate; freezing pensions until they meet

international norms and adjustments to the retirement age over a gradual

period of time. She said all these 'major reforms' required national

dialogue and public sensitisation to be successfully implemented. Asked

by Wade Mark whether the job losses over the past year, such as the

layouts at Petrotrin would have affected the income collected by NIB,

West said 'as persons cease to be employed, the numbers at NIB will

change'.

However in response to a question on the compensation package for the

Central Bank Governor, West declined to give the details, citing the

confidentiality provisions (Section 56) of the Central Bank Act. Responding

to a question on the post of Inspector of Banks, West said the post was not

vacant. She said the holder of the position is acting in the position, but is a

senior official who has been with the Central Bank for 20 years.

Meanwhile Energy Minister Franklin Khan, deputising for the Housing

Minister, said the Hyatt paid $56.6 million in taxes$25.3 million in VAT and

$31.3 million in PAYE during the period 2015 to 2018.

<< Back to news headlines >>

Trinidad Cement Ltd in front Wednesday 1st May, 2019 – Trinidad Express Newspapers

Overall stock market activity yesterday resulted from trading in 18

securities of which nine advanced, six declined and three traded firm.

Trading activity on the First Tier Market registered a volume of 112,565

shares crossing the floor of the Exchange valued at $1,364,720.25.

Trinidad Cement Ltd was the volume leader with 25,801 shares changing

hands for a value of $66,308.57.

Conversely, ANSA Merchant Bank Ltd registered the day's largest decline,

falling $1.00 to close at $37.

CLICO Investment Fund was the only active security on the Mutual Fund

Market, posting a volume of 14,298 shares valued $319,813.82.

The Second Tier Market did not witness any activity. any activity. Massy

Holdings Ltd registered the day's largest gain, increasing $0.97 to end the

day at

CINEMAONE Ltd was the only active security on the SME Market, posting a

volume of 350 shares valued at $3,482.50.

CINEMAONE Ltd The USD Equity Market did not witness any activity.

<< Back to news headlines >>

JMMB advises its clients: Don't take up TPHL offer Wednesday 1st May, 2019 – Trinidad Express Newspapers

Jamaican financial services company, JMMB is advising its clients not to

accept the offer made by Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Ltd (TPHL) to

exchange their 2019 and 2022 Petrotrin bonds for new bonds maturing in

2026 and paying annual interest of 9.75 per cent.

On April 15, wholly state-owned TPHL, successor holding company to

Petrotrin, announced its offer to exchange US$425 million of Petrotrin's

US$850 million bullet payment, which comes due in August, for new bonds

maturing in 2026 and paying the same interest rate as the 2019 bond-9.75

per cent. The offer for the 2022 bonds-which are amortising, meaning it

pays interest and principal together- depends on the successful take up

of the 2019 bonds. notes is however contingent on the take up of the 2019

notes.

In an investment research report published last week, JMMB noted that in

late 2018, it had recommended to its clients that they should be

underweight in the two outstanding Petrotrin bonds, which it defined to

mean that the notes should be reduced to less than 5 per cent of a

portfolio. That recommendation was based on JMMB's assessment that

Petrotrin's financials were weak and the company was haemorrhaging

cash.

"Notwithstanding the structural changes made to the corporate's

operation, we are not confident that the new management will fully

rehabilitate the entity in the short-to medium-term, owing to a

combination of factors, including the expected evolution in the global oil

markets and legacy issues that will not be resolved any time soon.

"Thus we are of the opinion that the operational changes that were

made, while necessary, are not sufficient to improve the profitability of the

corporate and/or improve the cash flow substantially over the medium-

term." said the JMMB report.

And having weighed the macro-fiscal situation in T& T and TPHL's financial

challenges, JMMB said: "It is our opinion that clients should not take up the

offer. Petrotrin will therefore have to make good on interest and principal

payments on the 2019 notes in August and continue to service its other

debt obligations." The TPHL exchange offer opened on April 16 and is due

to close on May 10 unless extended or terminated.

Petrotrin bondholders who tendered their bonds by April 26, last Friday, will

receive 100 per cent of the value of the principal on their 2019 bonds.

Those tendering after April 26 but before May 10 will receive 95 per cent.

JMMB noted that the issuer, TPHL, is seeking to eliminate substantially all

the restrictive covenants, certain events of default and release

guarantees upon the sale of certain subsidiaries and other related

provisions contained in the covenants.

The Jamaican investment firm also said that T& T is facing macro-

economic challenges that have negatively affected its fiscal accounts

and external balances.

"Government debt is climbing towards unsustainable levels and the

external reserves is bleeding fast. It is our opinion that the Government will

continue to provide near-term support to TPHL given its importance to the

domestic economy and the impact that a credit event by the corporate

could have on the sovereign's ratings. However, the ability of the

government to continue providing financial support to TPHL over the long

run is severely challenged," said JMMB.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert at a news conference on April 18 said T& T's

debt had stabilised at around 62 per cent over the last two to three years

and the country's foreign reserves had stabilised at around US$7.5 billion.

Given increased natural gas output, Imbert said he expected the

depletion of T& T's foreign reserves to slow to about US$350 million a year,

down from over US$1 billion.

JMMB is publicly listed on the T& T and Jamaica stock exchanges.

In its 2017 annual report, the JMMB Group reported that CLICO (Colonial

Life Insurance Company Trinidad Ltd) was the Jamaican company's third

largest shareholder, as at March 31, 2018, the end of the group's 2017

annual year. According to the annual report, CLICO owns 103,453,776

JMMB shares or 6.345 per cent of the company. CLICO is under the day-

to-day control of T& T's Central Bank, but Imbert has asserted his right to

provide the Bank with general or specific directions on the insurance

company, which collapsed in January 2009.

The largest JMMB shareholder, as at March 31, 2018, was listed as NCB

Capital Markets, a subsidiary of Jamaica's NCB Financial Group, which

held 26.296 per cent of the financial services company.

On December 27, 2018, the NCB Financial Group sold 326,277,325 JMMB

shares at J$28.25, raising J$9.2 billion. At the then prevailing exchange

rate, J$9.2 billion would have converted to about US$72 million.

In December last year, Jamaican financial sources linked NCB's sale of

what was a 20 per cent stake in JMMB to the Jamaican banking group

seeking to raise funds for its revised and enhanced bid for Guardian

Holdings Ltd, the Westmoorings-based insurance group.

A group of Petrotrin bondholders, organised by Miami-based investment

bank, BroadSpan Capital, formed themselves into a bondholder

committee last week and announced that its members do not support

the Petrotrin bond exchange offer.

The bondholder committee believes the tender deadlines proposed by

Petrotrin are unreasonable, they are concerned about what appears to

be a lack of inter-creditor equity and at the limited level of disclosure in

the offer "which makes it nearly impossible to undertake a reliable

assessment of the creditworthiness of Petrotrin on a going forward basis."

"Members of the Committee believe that certain terms in the proposed

structure should be modified to more fairly compensate holders for

participating in the transaction. Such modifications should include

customary consent fees as well as other structural improvements," said a

statement from the bondholders' committee last week.

<< Back to news headlines >>

Republic raises US$442m to fund expansion Wednesday 1st May, 2019 – Trinidad Express Newspapers

Republic Financial Holdings Ltd, (RFHL) the holding company of Republic

Bank, has borrowed a total of US$442 million in three transactions in the

last three months to finance the T& T bank's expansion, by the acquisition

of banking operations in ten Caribbean countries and through organic

growth.

Republic's holding company announced last week that it raised US$150

million to finance the purchase of Bank of Nova Scotia operations in nine

Caribbean countries.

The bank issued US$150 million in five-year, unsecured and

unsubordinated fixed-rate notes on April 17, 2019, that will pay investors an

annual interest rate of 5.07 per cent.

On November 27, 2018, Port of Spain-based RFHL announced that it was

seeking to acquire Scotiabank operations Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda,

Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Maarten and

St Vincent and the Grenadines.

RFHL said the agreed purchase price for the Scotiabank operations was

US$123 million, which represents US$25 million consideration for total

shareholding of Scotiabank Anguilla Limited; and a premium of US$98

million over net asset value for operations in the remaining eight countries.

Asked why RFHL was raising US$150 million if the purchase price of the

acquisitions was US$123 million, the company's president, Nigel Baptiste,

said: 'Besides the payment to Scotia, there are many other costs to be

satisfied, the most significant of which are the costs associated with the

stamp duty arising out of the vesting of the assets in the various countries.'

In e-mailed responses to questions, Baptiste explained that the stamp duty

costs varies by asset and by country and is payable on the assets involved

in each country.

He said the bank chose a five-year note, and not one longer or shorter,

because its cash flow projections showed that the years.

He said the fixed-income notes were purchased 'predominantly' by local

institutional investors, but he declined to say how much of the US$150

million was acquired by RFHL subsidiaries, citing confidentiality issues.

The bank structured the financing so that it was unsecured and

unsubordinated. Because of the strength of the RFHL group, security was

not required and we did not need subordinated debt at RFHL,' said

Baptiste.

Pushback

The announcement of the Republic acquisition of the nine countries has

faced some pushback from politicians. Immediately after the

announcement of the acquisition, Guyana's minister of finance expressed

concern that Republic's purchase of Scotia's operations in the South

American country could give the T& T bank more than 50 percent of the

country's banking assets, which might cause anti- competitiveness issues.

Antigua Prime Minister Gaston Browne has consistently expressed his

opposition to the sale of the island's branch, complaining that Antiguan

banks were not allowed to bid.

And on April 1, 2019, the Suriname-based Caricom Competition

Commission (CCC) said that it had completed a preliminary assessment of

competition issues of the acquisition, pursuant to Article 173(2)(a) of the

Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and that 'such assessment indicates that

the proposed transaction or parts thereof could possibly have anti-

competitive effects in at least three member states in the Community.'

The CCC statement did not name the states likely to be affected as a

result but said that 'in furtherance of its commitment to fair and

transparent processes for both the business community and consumers' it

will 'continue to monitor this activity in the Community and will inform as

appropriate on further progress of this matter in affected member states.'

Asked why RFHL opted to raise the money now, when regulatory approval

was months away, Baptiste said: "There is a process required for raising of

these debt issues including regulatory approvals. It is difficult to try and

secure just-in-time funding.

To cover off every possibility, there is a prepayment option attached to

the instrument.'

On whether the bank is confident that the acquisition of all nine

operations will be approved, as initially envisaged, Baptiste said: 'It is

always tricky to anticipate regulatory approvals. Our job is to address all

concerns raised and we are doing so. We remain confident that our value

proposition in all nine countries is a strong one and we are still moving

forward in the process.'

Mortgage financing

On April 12, 2019, Republic Bank Limited announced that it had executed

a seven-year subordinated loan agreement on with the International

Finance Corporation (IFC), to borrow the sum of US$75 million.

On Monday, the IFC, which is a member of the World Bank Group,

announced that the US$75 million loan is meant to support Republic

Bank's strategic plans to increase exposure to residential mortgages from

20 per cent of its total loan portfolio to 25 per cent, helping thousands of

middle-income families become homeowners.

The IFC said: "The investment consists of a seven-year subordinated loan

to grow the bank's mortgage portfolio of middle-income borrowers.

Additionally, the subordinated debt will qualify as Tier II capital under local

regulations, hence strengthening Republic Bank's capital base. As part of

the transaction, IFC is offering technical assistance in key areas such as

reporting, monitoring and risk management of the residential mortgage

portfolio.'

In the statement, Baptiste, who is also managing director of Republic Bank

Ltd, said: 'Owning a home is a dream for many families and Republic Bank

continues to look at innovative ways to provide affordable housing in

Trinidad and Tobago as this partnership with IFC demonstrates.'

Baptiste noted that the confidence shown in Republic Bank by IFC in

providing Tier II capital to fur ther strengthen the bank's already robust

capital level comes at an opportune time as the Republic Group is

embarking on a wider expansion in the region.

Cayman funding

In March, RFHL announced that it had acquired a 74.99 per cent

shareholding in Cayman National Corporation Limited (CNC), purchasing

some 31,755,842 of the issued shares in CNC, at a price of US$6.25 per

share for a total transaction cost of US$198,474,012.50.

In February, RFHL raised US$217 million to partially finance the Cay man

Island acquisition.

The money was raised as a combination of a repurchase arrangement

and a loan from Wells Fargo and Citibank.

At that time, Baptiste said the combination of the repurchase

arrangement and a loan was considered the most efficient approach to

the financing of the transaction.

debt could be repaid in five

<< Back to news headlines >>

CEO says LIAT prevailing despite money woes Wednesday 1st May, 2019 – The Daily Observer

The regional airline, LIAT, has continued to strive despite its financial

difficulties and rumors of a possible shutdown, and has even managed to

maintain an on-time performance rate near the industry standard of 85

percent.

So said LIAT’s chief executive officer (CEO) Julie Reifer-Jones recently, as

she gave assurances that the carrier will continue to operate its daily flight

schedule.

“LIAT continues to fly and we are operating to the 15 destinations across

the LIAT network. We are committed to connecting the region and our

Easter performance in terms of our on-time performance was over 80

percent.”

Reifer-Jones said that despite the many challenges threatening its ability

to survive, the Antigua-based carrier is looking forward to operating

throughout the upcoming summer period.

“As you know, this is the year of festivals and there are many festivals and

events which we will continue to serve during this summer period,” she

said.

The CEO is therefore encouraging passengers to continue to book with

the carrier as LIAT remains committed to the region.

The airline has also faced sluggish response to an appeal by the

shareholder governments for other countries served by LIAT to contribute

to an emergency fund.

“There are ongoing discussions with governments about the LIAT network

and about the need for the territories served by LIAT to contribute through

a minimum revenue guarantee model. The pace of these discussions has

been slower than we anticipated but the company remains optimistic

that the discussions will be concluded shortly,” Reifer-Jones said.

The company’s board of directors, as well as shareholders, met in Antigua

yesterday to review the proposed measures for taking the airline forward.

<< Back to news headlines >>

Govt approves small business loan facility, de-blacklisting legislation Wednesday 1st May, 2019 – Dominica News Online

Small and medium size enterprises in Dominica stand to benefit from a

new loan facility amounting to over $5 million.

The resolution authorizing government to borrow from the Eastern

Caribbean Partial Credit Facility was approved in parliament on Monday.

“It’s an OECS regional facility passed in Parliament today, the resolution to

have us access this fund,” Minister for Commerce, Enterprise and Small

Business Development, Roslyn Paul said.

According to her, this will benefit micro, small and medium-sized

enterprises (MSME’s) in Dominica.

“First and foremost we will be accessing this loan and I guess the small

business owners are going to be happy because access funding has

been a major challenge to a number of small businesses in Dominica,

especially coming on the heels of Hurricane Maria where number of small

businesses were affected,” she said.

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit commended Paul and thanked the World

Bank.

“The World Bank continues to be a true partner of Dominica. They have

always been there with us, more so, since Hurricane Maria and we are

grateful to the leadership of the bank,” he stated. “I want to give my

absolute support. I want to express my excitement for this.”

He said this will go a long way in addressing some of the challenges which

people who are in involved in small businesses may have in accessing

additional financing.

Levi Peter

Meantime, Attorney General Levi Peter said the country has taken action

to get out of the EU’s Blacklist.

Government amended the offshore Banking Act in order to handle tax

transparency.

“Government is committed to taking all the actions necessary to ensure

that Dominica does not remain on the negative list and that Dominica is

not deemed to be uncooperative in tax matters,” he said.

According to Peter, government is definitely not opposed to the principles

of transparency.

He said the demands placed on small states with regard to these matters

are onerous.

“Moreover, the varying standards and the frequent changes in standards

take little account of the capacity constraints of small developing

countries,” Peter stated.

He said Government will continue to do its best to respond as these

demands are made.

<< Back to news headlines >>

‘We Won’t Use Up $108m Headroom’ Tuesday 30th April, 2019 – Tribune 242

The Ministry of Finance’s top official yesterday voiced optimism that the

government will not squander the “$108m headroom” created by the

fiscal third quarter’s $40m budget surplus.

Marlon Johnson, acting financial secretary, conceded to Tribune Business

that “a substantial portion” of the difference between the $129m nine-

month fiscal deficit and $237m full-year target was likely to be used up

because the final three months will not be as “buoyant” as the previous

quarter.

Speaking as the government unveiled its nine-month fiscal “snapshot”

and budgetary report, Mr Johnson and K P Turnquest, deputy prime

minister, both expressed confidence that the “revenue rich” January-

March period had left it well-placed to achieve a full-year deficit target

equivalent to 1.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

In particular, the government achieved budget surpluses - meaning its

income, or revenue, exceeded its spending - of $19.3m and $40.1m for

February and March, respectively. This more than offset the $19.4m deficit

incurred in January, while also helping to cut the $169m worth of “red ink”

run up during the first six months of the 2018-2019 fiscal year.

The quarter’s performance thus brought the government’s fiscal position

back into line with its targets, after it used up almost three-quarters of the

full-year deficit during the first half. Year-over-year, the $129.2m deficit for

the first nine months was said to represent a 51 percent reduction on the

$261.5m incurred over the same period in 2017-2018.

However, Mr Johnson cautioned that the final three months of the 2018-

2019 fiscal year will prove more challenging than the previous quarter due

to an expected ramp-up in capital spending and the government’s drive

to settle all bills before the June 30 year-end.

“It sets the deficit back, and we’ve got about $108m in headroom as far

as the deficit is concerned,” he told Tribune Business of the fiscal third

quarter performance. “We’d like to see the fourth quarter be as buoyant,

but we’re not projecting that as far as revenue is concerned.

“We’re likely to use up a substantial portion of that headroom, but we

don’t expect to come in outside the approved budgetary allocation for

the deficit.”

Pointing to potential spending pressures as well, Mr Johnson added: “We’ll

have some substantial expenditure on the capital side as contracts

mature and get into full throttle.

“We also want to make sure that all bills are brought to account, and that

we avoid any carry over into the new fiscal year. We have been making a

concerted effort. Our budget analysts and the team are staying in close

contact with the ministries and agencies so that they follow good

accounting practices and no unexpected spending commitments are

incurred.

“That will avoid the massive build-up of arrears that would have

accumulated in the past.” That build-up was pegged at $360m by the

Minnis administration, which it is aiming to pay off over the next three

years with the extra revenues generated by the VAT rate increase to 12

percent.

The deficit declines, both quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year, come

after the Government announced in the mid-year Budget that it was

cutting recurrent spending by 5 percent or $130m against 2018-2019

projections to compensate for a $185m revenue underperformance and

stay on its deficit target.

The Government has begun to generate budget surpluses during the

January-March period more consistently, especially since the introduction

of VAT, because it coincides with a winter tourism season that represents

the peak activity in the Bahamian economic cycle.

Business Licence fees are due at this time, which also includes commercial

vehicle licensing month and the bulk of real property tax payments. They

combine with the extra tourism and economic activity to give the Public

Treasury its seasonal revenue buoyancy.

However, Mr Turnquest said the $40m surplus achieved during the 2018-

2019 fiscal third quarter represented a reversal of the $7m deficit position

incurred the year before. He added: “We successfully reduced the deficit

by over $130m in the first nine-months compared to the same fiscal period

last year. That’s a 51 percent improvement.”

The deputy prime minister told Tribune Business that the results achieved

to-date showed the Government was “on the right track to get The

Bahamas’ fiscal house in order” through its three-year consolidation plan

that is ultimately designed to eliminate the deficit gap.

Matching Mr Johnson’s optimism that the $237m fiscal deficit target will be

met or beaten, he told Tribune Business of the year’s final quarter: “This is a

risky period, if I may use that word, where we have to make sure we do

not make spending commitments not included in the Budget and remain

true to our fiscal discipline.

“As it stands now, I feel pretty good we will meet our targets, and we are

monitoring very carefully our expenditure. I’m going to remain

conservative and say we will come in around our target. we beat it, fine,

but I want to stay on the side of conservatism rather than be overly

optimistic.

“It’s not easy, but I believe we remain on the right track in getting this

entire fiscal house on target and are moving in the right direction.”

Mr Turnquest added that the Government was “still aiming” to hit its 2019-

2020 target of a fiscal deficit equivalent to just 1 percent of Bahamian

gross domestic product (GDP). This would be equal to about $110m, and

the deputy prime minister confirmed it was targeting a small budget

surplus - the first in Bahamian history - the following fiscal year.

Both goals are enshrined in statute law via the Fiscal Responsibility Act,

and Mr Turnquest said revenue-raising measures in the 2019-2020 budget

will be focused on compliance and administrative issues as opposed to

new or increased taxes.

Having repeatedly ruled out such moves, he told Tribune Business: “We

don’t expect any significant revenue changes this year except for a

tightening up on various matters where we believe we can drive higher

productivity through compliance with existing laws, and monitor

expenditure such that we don’t lose the momentum gained this year.

“The numbers are following the positive trend expected, certainly as far as

we can see into the future, and that bodes well not only for this year but

the remainder of the fiscal consolidation plan we’ve put forward to the

Bahamian people.

“It gives us the encouragement to continue on the path we’ve been on in

introducing and implementing this fiscal measure, and all the legislation

we’ve put in place around it. It gives us the encouragement to carry

forward with the remaining legislation and procedures to complement our

policy of increasing transparency and accountability controls,” Mr

Turnquest continued.

“We’re moving in the right direction. The results show positive trends along

these lines, and if we continue to remain faithful to the plan, we will end

up with the result we anticipate of a surplus in the third year.”

Mr Johnson, echoing the deputy prime minister, added: “I think the

Ministry is pleased with the performance, and its ability to manage the

revenue and expenditure side to keep on target with the overall deficit

projections.

“We feel we’re in a good place. The underpinning of all this will be the

continued growth and strengthening of the Bahamian economy and,

provided that continues, we feel we have the fiscal headroom to stay on

target with the mid-term forecasts.

“We have to keep in mind the need to tighten expenditure controls in line

with the Government’s policy priorities and minimise unnecessary

expenditure. That remains our challenge even as the situation improves

and we see some stabilisation of the fiscal position.”

<< Back to news headlines >>

Govt ‘Feeling Pretty Good’ With Vat Collection At 56% Tuesday 30th April, 2019 – Tribune 242

The government was yesterday said to be “feeling pretty good” about

VAT’s performance despite collecting just 55.6 percent of the 2018-2019

full-year forecast during the first nine months.

KP Turnquest, deputy prime minister, told Tribune Business that its major

revenue-raising mechanism had performed “in line with projections”

during the second and third quarters despite the government’s data

giving every indication that full-year targets will not be met.

But, rejecting arguments that the VAT rate hike to 12 percent will not

achieve the government’s objectives, Mr Turnquest said the full impact

was delayed rather than missed. Pointing to the transition period granted

to the hotel and construction industries, as well as the consumer

“adjustment” to the increase, he argued that such a lag was “not

unexpected”.

The government’s nine-month fiscal “snapshot” and budgetary

performance report, released yesterday, showed that VAT revenues for

the period to end-March were up year-over-year by almost $100m - a 20.2

percent increase.

The rise, from $490m to $589m, is well short of matching the 60 percent

hike in the VAT rate - something that is likely to be seized upon by the

government’s political opponents. They have consistently argued that the

magnitude of the rate increase will not be matched by a corresponding

surge in VAT revenues.

While year-to-date VAT revenues are well short of the $1.062bn full-year

projection with just three months of the 2018-2019 fiscal period left, the

Ministry of Finance’s top official yesterday said the tax’s year-over-year

performance was not a true like-for-like comparison.

Marlon Johnson, acting financial secretary, told Tribune Business that VAT

was no longer levied on real estate sales as it had been prior to the 2018-

2019 budget, when it enjoyed a 7.5 percent/2.5 percent split with Stamp

Tax.

As a result, this year’s VAT collection is up against a tough year-before

comparison when figures included revenues generated by real estate

sales. Mr Johnson said this impact could be gauged by the more than-

doubling of Stamp Tax revenues, which had increased by more than 100

percent year-over-year to $169m, as a result of the Government

eliminating VAT on real estate sales and reverting to 10 percent Stamp

Duty.

“We took real estate off VAT and it was added to Stamp Tax,” he

explained. “You’ll see a bump up in Stamp Tax revenues that were

otherwise booked as VAT.” Mr Johnson said the concessions granted to

the construction and hotel industries, allowing them to levy VAT at the old

7.5 percent rate on pre-booked business, and the fact quarterly filings for

the 2018 second quarter would also have been based on this rate,

provided further explanations for VAT’s seeming under-performance.

“Add all that up, and it translates into a pretty good position, especially

given the concessions made to the construction and hotel industry which

are pretty significant economic drivers,” he added. The Government has

already projected that total revenues will likely undershoot the full-year

target by $185m due in part to the VAT transition.

Still, VAT was shown to be the poorest-performing revenue source when

nine-month collections were measured against full-year targets. Just 55.6

percent of the $1.062bn forecast had been received, whereas the likes of

real property tax, Business Licence and trade taxes had already

produced 70.9 percent, 81.6 percent and 63 percent of their full-year

projections respectively by end-March.

Mr Turnquest, though, voiced optimism that the full impact from the VAT

rate hike will be felt in the upcoming 2019-2020 fiscal year now that the

transition period afforded to the hotel and construction industry has long

ended.

Confirming that this transition had not been factored into the VAT

projections, he told Tribune Business: “Hopefully we will see a sustainable

level of productivity from the VAT system, and maybe even a gain.

“We’ve consistently said we made some concessions at the beginning of

the year that affected the overall budget projections, and there’s a

natural tendency for some adjustment as with any new tax that’s

introduced, so it’s not unexpected.

“The positives are that we are above where we were last year,” Mr

Turnquest continued, “and the trends for the second and third quarters

have been positive and trending in line with our projections. That gives us

the confidence that our projections are not inaccurate.

“As with any change there’s always a natural period of adjustment as

consumers come to grips with it, but overall we’re feeling pretty good with

where VAT is.”

The Government’s nine-month budgetary report, breaking down the

revenue performance, said: “Reflecting two quarterly filings at the 12

percent rate, Value-Added Tax (VAT) receipts posted a gain of $98.9m to

$588.9m.

“Collections represented approximately 55.6 percent of the budget, with

the initial quarter’s performance moderated by the Government’s

accommodation to hotels and resorts and development projects to

honour business booked/secured prior to September 30, 2018, at the old

rate.”

As for Stamp Duty, the report added: “The buoyancy in stamp taxes on

financial and realty transactions was maintained throughout the year-to-

date performance, with an approximate two-fold hike in the yield to

$161.6m from $80.6m a year ago.

“At 112.5 percent of the budget, the outcome was supported by the

increase in stamp duties on realty transactions in excess of $100,000 to 10

percent, effective July 1, 2018, following the corresponding removal of

VAT from all realty deals. Stamp taxes on banking transactions, at $54m,

represented a gain of $8.7m in receipts.”

The VAT rate hike and corresponding Stamp Duty adjustment were the

Government’s key revenue increase drivers for the year-to-date, with all

other major revenue streams largely flat against the prior year.

Mr Turnquest, meanwhile, reiterated his previous calls for the web shops to

pay all taxes due and owing under the mid-February settlement with the

Government. While 2018-2019’s gaming taxes were only $5.1m below the

sum collected for the first nine months of the prior fiscal year, he added

that “every dollar matters”.

“We just need to ensure we collect the taxes due to the Government,” Mr

Turnquest told Tribune Business. “Nobody wants to pay taxes, but we all

have our part to play in the provision of services to the Bahamian people

and we have to meet our commitments.”

The Government’s report added: “Gaming tax receipts, at $22.5m, were

$5.1m below the corresponding period and exclude the impact of the

recent agreement reached with the gaming houses that will recoup a

portion of the new fees anticipated in the first half of the year.

Consequently, collections to date amounted to only 32.1 percent of the

$70m budget target.”

Turning to other revenue sources, it continued: “Revenue collections from

licences to conduct special business activity posted a gain of $24.6m

(34.9 percent) to $95.1m. While consistent with trend collections, the

dominant business licence component contributed a strengthened

$32.1m (51.7 percent) more in receipts.”

As for the overall revenue picture after the first nine months, the

Government’s report said: “Revenue receipts through March... amounted

to an estimated $1.689bn, an increase of $218.7 million (14.9 percent) over

the corresponding period in fiscal year 2017-2018 and represented nearly

64 percent of the fiscal year target.

“Tax receipts improved by $198m to $1.522bn (62.6 percent of the

budget), while non-tax revenue surpassed the three-quarter budget mark

(76.5 percent) with a gain of $20.7m to $167.3m.

“Supported by recent fee increases, revenue from immigration fees were

higher by $20.9m (44 percent) and equated to 89.3 percent of the

budget target. Fines, penalties and forfeits provided receipts of $3.9m

relative to $1.5m last year (mainly emanating from judicial-related

activities).”

<< Back to news headlines >>

$7.8m Caught in Payment Frauds Tuesday 30th April, 2019 – Tribune 242

Some $7.8m worth of payment fraud complaints were made in 2018, the

Central Bank of The Bahamas has revealed, with debit cards accounting

for almost 60 percent of cases.

The bank and trust company regulator’s 2018 annual report, released

yesterday, disclosed that many of the debit card-related fraud complaints

stemmed from “a major card skimming scheme” that hit one Bahamas-

based financial institution last August.

This involves the use of a skimming device to capture all the information

stored on the debit card’s magnetic strip. This is then copied on to a blank

card’s magnetic strip, enabling thieves to steal a person’s identity and

make purchases or withdraw cash in the actual account holder’s name.

“The Central Bank began compiling data on the number of fraud cases in

2017, as part of a heightened focus on consumer protection,” its annual

report said. “A preliminary analysis of the bank’s 2018 payments survey

showed that there were 3,507 reported cases of fraud processed by

commercial banks for cheques, debit and credit cards, valued at $7.8m.

“Disaggregated by type, cases involving debit cards accounted for 59.5

percent of the total at 2,086, with an associated value of $3.2m. This

reflects in part exposure to a major ‘card skimming’ scheme that affected

one domestic entity in August.

“Cheque fraud represented 14.6 percent of the aggregate number of

cases at 514, for a corresponding value of $2.5m (32.5 percent of the total

value). Further, the number of cases involving credit cards stood at 907,

which constituted 25.9 percent of the total and an associated value of

$2m.”

The Central Bank added that, not surprisingly, more than 75 percent of

fraud cases were reported in New Providence as The Bahamas’ largest

population centre.

Elsewhere, the Central Bank said it had custody of some 41,459 dormant

account facilities containing balances worth $108.8m as at year-end

2018. These are accounts where there has been no activity for at least

seven years, with Bahamian and US dollars accounting for 89.1 percent of

this sum.

Legislative reforms enacted last year, though, now allow the government

to take ownership of “specific categories of dormant funds” held by the

Central Bank for the purposes of financing its fledgling disaster relief fund.

“Low-value accounts of $500 or less would immediately cede to the

Government on transfer to the Central Bank,” the latter’s annual report

said. “In accordance with the Act, as at end-December 2018 an

estimated $40.95m in dormant funds was due to be remitted to the

Government against the applicable 10-year custodial period expiration.

“In 2019, the Central Bank will introduce additional governance oversight

structures for dormant account administration. This will include increased

public disclosures regarding assets in custody, and public awareness

campaigns around funds recovery and ways to minimise lapses into

account inactivity status. The Bank has also committed to developing an

automated enquiry tool to help the public to search for suspected

dormant assets.”

<< Back to news headlines >>

Panama gets 2nd rating boost Tuesday 30th April, 2019 – Newsroom Panama

Panama got another rating boost on Monday, April 29 from the rating

agency Standard & Poor's Global Rating which improved the country’s

sovereign rating from BBB to BBB +.

This is the second improvement received so far this year, after the Moody's

agency made a similar move in March, raising the Baa2 rating to Baa1.

With this jump, Panama is at the level of countries such as Mexico and

Peru and is only below Chile (A +) in the region

The rating of risk is an opinion of the agencies on the ability and willingness

to pay the debt that a country or a company has.

S & P said the improvement is a consequence of years of growth, which

raised per capita income, the diversification of the economy and a

relatively low level of public debt.

<< Back to news headlines >>

Federal Government of St. Kitts and Nevis will provide over $1 million in

emergency funding support to LIAT Tuesday 30th April, 2019 – SKN Vibes

At a meeting of the Federal Cabinet on Saturday (April 27th, 2019), the

decision was made for the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis to provide

emergency funding support of over EC $1 million to LIAT, the Caribbean

airline headquartered in Antigua.

Coming out of a presentation to the Federal Cabinet, which was made

by a three-member delegation from LIAT on March 11th, 2019, an advisory

committee led by the Financial Secretary in the Government of St. Kitts

and Nevis, Hilary Hazel, was established to review LIAT’s proposals and

make recommendations on the way forward.

Along with representation from the Ministry of Finance, the Committee

that Cabinet established comprised representatives from the Office of the

Prime Minister, the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, the Ministry of Tourism and the

St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority (SCASPA).

During the March 11th presentation, LIAT’s General Counsel and

Corporate Secretary, Diane Shurland along with LIAT’s Chief Financial

Officer, Rojer Inglis and Chief Commercial Officer, Audra Walker informed

the Federal Cabinet that the cash-strapped regional airline required

immediate financial assistance from countries that benefit from its

operations. The LIAT high-level representatives also proposed for the

Government of St. Kitts and Nevis to enter into a Minimum Revenue

Guarantee (MRG) arrangement with the airline.

The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis agrees in principle with the idea of

participating in an MRG arrangement on the basis of further discussions

and negotiations with high-level representatives of LIAT.

<< Back to news headlines >>

$40b of state funds still held by commercial banks - IMF urges active

monitoring to guard against misuse Sunday 28th April, 2019 – Jamaica Gleaner

Nine years after the Jamaican Government put in place legislation to

prevent leakage of taxpayers’ funds by creating a single account at the

Bank of Jamaica, more than $40 billion of the state’s resources are still

being held in commercial banks.

There are a large of number of bank accounts – more than 3,000 –

containing significant funds residing outside the treasury single account

system, the TSA, creating room for misuse of government funds, according

to the fifth review under Jamaica’s standby agreement with the

International Monetary Fund (IMF) released last week.

Jamaica implemented a central treasury management system (CTMS)

starting in November 2012, after amendments to the Financial

Administration and Audit Act in 2009, to replace the dispersed cash and

treasury management systems in government.

The CMTS involves the operation of a single treasury account at the

central bank by the Accountant General’s Department, replacing the

expenditure clearing accounts of ministries, departments, and agencies

held at commercial banks.

Commenting under the heading public financial management and

controls, the IMF country report said that transparency and accountability

are hindered due to the lack of published audited financial statements,

which it notes are the primary means for assessing the Government’s use

of public resources.

Central government budget execution reports are published on a

monthly basis, but they do not provide a full picture of the state of

government finances and they are not audited.

While the Government had committed to completing a review of its bank

accounts in commercial banks outside the TSA by December 2018 and

determine suitable policy actions by June 2019, it was the first IMF report in

which the holdings were quantified.

The report said that there are more than 3,000 commercial bank accounts

residing outside of the TSA with government funds totalling around two per

cent of GDP, or about $40 billion based on Jamaica’s GDP of

approximately US$15 billion. The accounts include those falling under the

responsibility of ministries and departments.

RISK OF MISUSE

“Such large amounts outside the TSA increase the risk that government

funds are misused and reduce the efficiency of budget planning and

cash management,” the IMF said.

Of the 3,000 accounts, over 2,000 are operated by universities, colleges

and schools, which the current legal framework allows to remain outside

the TSA.

“However, although individual account balances are small, they pose a

risk since oversight is weak and compounded by commingling of

government and donor funds (i.e., alumni and parent associations),” the

IMF report added.

The Government transfers funds in blocks to schools that, in turn, make

payments to suppliers and beneficiaries directly using commercial

accounts rather than through the centralised platform used for regular

government payments for goods and services.

The IMF recommended that audited financial statements should be

published on a timely basis in line with international accounting standards,

including all revenues, expenses, assets, and liabilities.

It also recommended that all government-related commercial bank

accounts should be eventually migrated to the TSA at the central bank.

The Fund suggested that in the interim, those accounts should be actively

monitored, including through the adoption of Integrated Financial

Management Systems, that greatly improves reporting and monitoring

capabilities.

It said monitoring and the migration process should be led by the

Accountant General’s Department to which monthly bank reconciliation

statements should be submitted.

It also recommended that the Government create TSA sub-accounts for

ministries, departments and agencies at the BOJ, begin migrating funds

and close redundant commercial bank accounts.

For universities, colleges, and schools, the IMF suggested that separate

ledger accounts be kept for budget and non-budget funds and that they

provide quarterly reports on the balances in the budgetary fund ledgers

to the AGD.

It also suggested that schools be brought into the CMTS system, thereby

facilitating direct transfers between the AGD and suppliers, and that

government funds from schools’ commercial bank accounts be removed.

<< Back to news headlines >>

Several entities under agriculture ministry to be transformed Saturday 27th April, 2019 – Jamaica Observer

SEVERAL entities that fall under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce,

Agriculture, and Fisheries will be transformed and modernised.

Portfolio Minister Audley Shaw, who made the disclosure during his

contribution to the 2019/20 Sectoral Debate in the House of

Representatives on Tuesday, said that the process involves the merger,

removal, privatisation and closeout of operations.

By way of Cabinet Decision No. 20/18 dated June 4, 2018, the following

transformation activities are being executed: merger of the Fair Trading

Commission (FTC) and the Consumer Affairs Commission; completion of

the merger of the Agricultural Marketing Corporation, Agricultural

Development Corporation, Agricultural Support Services and Productive

Project Fund Limited into the Agro-Investment Corporation; and the

incorporation of the Banana Board in the Jamaica Agricultural

Commodities Regulatory Authority.

In addition, the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) and the Jamaica 4-H

Clubs are to transition to non-governmental status; the Tobacco Industry

Control Authority will be closed; and the Tobacco Industry Regulation Act

repealed.

Other activities include divestment or privatisation of Jamaica Exotic

Flavours and Essences, while the Veterinary Board will transition to body

corporate status.

A September 30, 2019 deadline has been communicated for completion

of some of the transformation activities, with the exception of the

Jamaica 4-H Clubs, JAS, Veterinary Board and Jamaica Exotic Flavours

and Essences.

<< Back to news headlines >>

$295m approved for redevelopment of Bodles Research Station Saturday 27th April, 2019 – Jamaica Observer

THE Government has budgeted $295 million to continue the

redevelopment programme at the Bodles Research Station.

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Audley Shaw

said that the funds will be used to carry out expansion and upgrading

work at the facility located in Old Harbour, St Catherine.

He was contributing to the 2019/20 Sectoral Debate in the House of

Representatives on Tuesday.

In the 2018/19 financial year, some $150 million was expended on

redevelopment projects at Bodles.

Meanwhile, plant seedlings are being prepared at the research stations at

Orange River in St Mary and Top Mountain, St Andrew, to revitalise the

cocoa sub-sector and jump-start strawberry production.

The ministry's Research and Development Programme aims to ensure

improved governance, accountability and financial sustainability towards

strengthening the agriculture health and food-safety system, while

providing improved technology through research in the areas of crops

and livestock.

In addition to the provision of modern equipment and techniques, the

programme focuses on the rehabilitation of infrastructure.

<< Back to news headlines >>

Scotia merges King Street and Scotia Centre branches Friday 26th April, 2019 – Jamaica Observer

Effective Friday, May 17, Scotiabank will be merging operations at its King

Street and Scotiabank Centre (Duke and Port Royal Streets) branches in

downtown Kingston.

In an advisory to customers recently, the bank stated that the merger

resulted from a recent review of the branches' operations, as that relates

to ensuring it continues to offer “the best operating model” to serve

customers.

“The combined operation will be temporarily situated at the King Street

location, until renovations are completed at the Scotia Centre location.

Once completed, the new Scotia Centre branch will be an interactive,

state-of-the-art digital branch,” the bank informed customers.

In order to ensure a smooth transition, the bank said it would

automatically assign customer's savings, chequing and/or commercial

loan accounts to the Scotiabank Centre on May 17.

Customers who operate current accounts may continue to use their

current cheques, as they will still be honoured. Customers can also order

cheque leaves for new accounts from any branch; however, they cannot

be used before May 17. There will be no account number change for any

other product, including Scotiabank loans, mortgage, term deposits,

credit card and ScotiaLine.

Customers who are lessees of safety deposit boxes are being asked to visit

their branches immediately to access their contents. All other

services/products will be automatically handled by the Scotia Centre

team.

Scotiabank confirmed last November that it would close its branch on

King Street in downtown Kingston, and consolidate its operations with the

nearby Scotiabank Centre. The bank said that in the process the Scotia

Centre branch will be redesigned and reorganised to meet the needs of

the combined customer base.

The bank said then that it would be making significant investments to

redesign the Scotia Centre branch, which will underscore its commitment

to downtown Kingston and to Jamaica.

The bank also said that when the renovations are complete Scotia Centre

will be one of the most cutting-edge banks in the Caribbean, redesigned

around a better customer experience.

It added that it is now focused on ensuring its customers are informed of

these changes and supporting its employees through this transition, while

staying true to its principles of treating employees fairly, equitably and

with respect.

“It is our intention to redeploy staff across the Scotiabank network,” the

bank said, suggesting that there would be no job losses from the closure

of the oldest branch in Jamaica.

Scotia Group Jamaica President and CEO David Noel told the media last

year that the closure of the King Street branch is in line with restructuring

operations being undertaken to better serve customers and improve

operational efficiency.

He said that customers have begun to show a growing preference for

digital channels which offer cost-effective transactions.

“The [renovated Scotia Centre] will create other opportunities. We are

confident that those employees at the King Street branch will be

accommodated at the ScotiaCentre or multiple other branches across

Kingston,” he said.

Noel also noted that the changes are intended to create a sustainable

business.

Scotiabank has made several investments in technology to improve the

customer experience. Among them are the introduction of intelligent,

automated teller machines, with 15 more expected to be rolled out

across the island ahead of Christmas.

“Banking is changing and we are excited about this. We are seeing a

change in the way customers do business — 13 per cent of our customers

doing business in branch, versus 21 per online; two years ago, that would

have been the reverse,” he said.

Scotiabank maintains a network of 32 branches, 253 ATMs, online and

mobile banking, and a 24-hour Customer Contact Centre in Jamaica.

<< Back to news headlines >>

PM says Jamaica Trade Information Portal will improve ease of doing

business Friday 26th April, 2019 – Jamaica Observer

Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the Jamaica Trade Information Portal

will significantly improve the ease of doing business in the country, while

creating an environment that facilitates greater trading opportunities.

With this portal, Jamaica will have a single authoritative trade information

source for businesses to easily access information they need at any time. It

will be managed by the Trade Board Limited (TBL).

The portal is expected to go live on May 16, 2019 and will be the first of its

kind in the English-speaking Caribbean. It can be accessed at

www.jamaicatradeportal.gov.jm.

The prime minister was given an update on the portal at his offices in St

Andrew today from members of the implementation team.

“Trade across borders was one of the lowest scores in our ease of doing

business and I have been speaking about it for a long time, and I am

happy to see that there is a tangible move on the part of the Ministry of

Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries to have this done,” Holness

said.

The prime minister noted that easily accessible and manipulated

information is critical to trade and improving Jamaica’s business

environment, adding that the marketing and advertising of the portal is

crucial, so that more persons will utilise it once its goes live, instead of

being “heavily reliant on picking up the phone and calling someone”.

Holness said the design and creation of the portal is a very important step

towards transitioning Jamaica to a digital society.

“In doing that transition, it is absolutely important that there is integration

with all the ministries and all the services, because, inevitably, the services

that Government provides will be more and more virtual in nature, rather

than physical, and the population needs to get used to this idea that

information is going to be served to everyone and you will have to be

information literate to be able to navigate the information,” he said.

The prime minister said that as a society, “we have not yet totally

embraced information technology, and the transformation to a digital

society will take some time.”

Meanwhile, Chief Information Officer, Jamaica Trade Board, Carl Morgan,

said that while registration is not a requirement to use the portal,

customers who register will be notified once changes are made or

additional information is updated to the portal.

Team Lead, Jamaica Trade Information Portal, and Associate Director,

ECORYS, UK, Trevor O’Reagan, noted that information was received from

approximately 34 ministries, departments and agencies to populate the

portal.

For his part, President, Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association,

Metry Seaga, gave a commitment that he would be encouraging

members of his association to utilise the portal.

The Jamaica Trade Information Portal project was launched last year

during a joint ceremony of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade

and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries.

It will provide Jamaican export and import businesses with the

commercial responsiveness and agility they need to become more

competitive in the global market.

The portal aims to provide transparency and predictability of trade

procedures, increase compliance levels as well as reduce the cost of

doing business for traders.

In turn, Jamaica will satisfy its transparency obligations under Article 1 of

the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Trade Facilitation, which

deals with making information available through the Internet.

The project is being funded by the International Finance Corporation

(IFC)/World Bank Group and executed by a team of consultants from the

ECORYS and Lumin consortium.

<< Back to news headlines >>

Sygnus to create property fund Friday 26th April, 2019 – Jamaica Gleaner

Sygnus Credit Investments, SCI, is looking to real estate and going beyond

Jamaica’s boundaries to make more money for its investors.

A property fund is being created for the purpose, but Berisford Grey, CEO

of SCI’s management company Sygnus Capital, says it’s too early to relay

the details.

“Right now we are exploring opportunities to potentially fund asset classes

such as real estate,” Grey said Wednesday. “Sygnus will be looking to get

additional capital to fund the demand in Sygnus Credit Investment,” he

said.

Sygnus is planning to seed the property fund with proceeds from a private

placement. But Grey would not reveal the fundraising target nor the

timing of the placement.

Although Grey would not make the link, its own push comes after Sygnus

structured financing for another private equity firm, newcomer First Rock

Capital Holdings, that raised $2.5 billion in March mostly to be used for real

estate investments. The success of that fundraising effort surprised even

Sygnus, given that First Rock is a start-up operation whose official launch

was still pending then.

Sygnus Credit is itself only two years old, but already it has investments

spanning several sectors in various Caribbean markets. Distribution

occupies 25 per cent of SCI’s portfolio while manufacturing and energy

each account for 19 per cent. Grey says Sygnus wants to strengthen its

position by taking advantage of certain growth areas in the Jamaican

economy.

“Jamaica’s economy is on the upswing at the moment, therefore, certain

areas of the real estate market are very attractive,” he said. “In addition,

there is energy along with manufacturing and distribution.”

The company is also focused on opportunities overseas, but its forays

remain within the region.

“We see opportunities in various sectors and we are focusing on achieving

geographical diversification. This has seen us investing in the Dutch

Caribbean, St Lucia, Barbados, and we are looking to Bahamas to do

some,” Grey said.

<< Back to news headlines >>

Sagicor Jamaica in M&A mode Friday 26th April, 2019 – Jamaica Gleaner

Year two of Christopher Zacca’s tenure as president and CEO of Sagicor

Group Jamaica brought record profit amid a restructuring of the

accounting for resort investment Playa.

But just in case anyone thought otherwise, Zacca is declaring he is hungry

for more and is looking to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to drive

needed growth in the banking and investment segments of the financial

conglomerate.

“We are always looking for merger and acquisition opportunities in the

banking space,” Zacca told the Financial Gleaner in an interview this

week.

“We have to be strategic about where. We are not limiting our view to

Jamaica, but there is a lot of room here in Jamaica,” he said, even while

declining to signal whether any deals were in the pipeline.

In December, the listed company acquired 51 per cent of Travel Cash, a

little-known microfinance company of the Guardsman Group, for just

under $360 million. Having installed new management, Sagicor is in the

process of renaming and rebranding the entity for a phased roll-out of

microfinance and small business products in a few months’ time.

Cayman investment

This comes on the heels of a recent declaration that the company is

pumping $2.6 billion to build out an investment banking outfit in the

Cayman Islands.

Zacca says the Cayman investment vehicle, which awaits regulatory

approval there, is intended to be a springboard for extending Sagicor’s

investment banking reach throughout the Caribbean.

With its parent Sagicor Financial Corporation SFC, already heavily invested

in insurance in markets like Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados and throughout

the Eastern Caribbean, Sagicor Jamaica is concentrating on growing its

banking and investment business in those markets.

“We are doing deals down there. We have done some syndication

loans,” said Zacca, adding that a team, including Sagicor Bank CEO

Chorvelle Johnson and Sagicor Investments CEO Kevin Donaldson,

recently returned from the Eastern Caribbean where they were “looking

at a hotel financing deal”.

In the wider Caribbean, Sagicor Jamaica is partnering with the investment

side of the SFC business as well as collaborating with banks – Scotiabank,

Republic and CIBC FirstCaribbean. Scotiabank has announced plans to

exit some Caribbean locations and business lines. In Jamaica, Sagicor is

acquiring Scotia Group Jamaica’s life insurance business under a larger

regional deal between Sagicor Financial and Scotiabank.

“We work with all of them. The truth is, when it comes to finance on the

banking side, it doesn’t suit any entity to try and hog the whole show,”

said Zacca. “You want to work with the entire sector to manage risks and

to really leverage your size to get more and more deals. So that’s our

approach,” he said.

Despite its so far spotty record, Sagicor Jamaica also has its eyes set on

markets of the Spanish Caribbean and Latin America, content for now to

regard its largely unprofitable joint venture insurance partnership in Costa

Rica with Banco Promerica as a “learning curve” for an eventual

expansion into other similar Spanish-speaking jurisdictions. Sagicor has

operated in Costa Rica since 2013.

“It’s not costing us money. It is not a cash drain,” Zacca said of Costa

Rica’s contribution. After posting a $10-million loss in 2017, Costa Rica

appears to have contributed to group revenues in 2018, with $18 million

attributed to “profits from joint venture”.

Zacca, who on May 4, 2017, took over the mantle of leadership at Sagicor

Group Jamaica from Richard Byles, the current chairman, knows that he

has no learning curve and must maintain the Sagicor tradition of profit

growth year-on-year.

He recounts among the biggest challenges of his tenure the changing

macroeconomic environment that compresses net interest and other fee

income throughout the business lines. He points out that with drastically

lower interest rates and less government paper, there has been the need

to more aggressively drive core business rather than rely on assets earning

big profits.

“We have had to really crank up sales of insurance – individual, group

health, group life. Come out of the balance sheet-type investments and

go on to managed funds and corporate finance to earn fee income. On

the banking side … drive payments, credit cards, services, more loan

business,” he said.

“Get back to basics and drive revenue from core business – that is what I

love. I love to get a real business and just drive it. We are focusing on that

and it is paying off.”

Sagicor Group posted $13.9 billion in net profits for 2018, making it

Jamaica’s second most profitable listed company after NCB Financial

Group.

But revenues were bogged down by underperforming fee income to

Sagicor Investments Jamaica Limited.

While the investment arm grew assets under management from $89 billion

to $140 billion, net investment income fell to $18.2 billion from $20.7 billion;

and on the flagship side of the operation – insurance – net premium

income was down to $39.8 billion in 2018 from $40.9 billion in 2017.

Zacca also had to contend last year with the strong headwinds of a $875-

million impairment provision against credit losses on investments in

defaulted Government of Barbados bonds. Add to that, stock value losses

on the 20 million shares or a 15 per cent stake in Playa Hotels and Resorts

NV, along with US$100 million in cash, which Sagicor Group received last

June in return for combining some $39 billion of its hotel assets with Playa.

At the time of the deal, the Nasdaq listed Playa shares traded at well over

US$10. On Tuesday, when Zacca spoke with the Financial Gleaner, the

stock traded at US$8.21. The volatility of the equity led Sagicor to change

its accounting of the Playa holding from a portfolio investment taking its

share price to book, to reflecting it as an associate. Sagicor Group’s

financials now reflect a share of Playa’s book value and profits.

Zacca is upbeat that when Playa’s ultra-luxury Hyatt-branded property

being built in the Dominican Republic, as well as two others in that country

and Mexico being rebranded as Hilton properties are back online, the

hotel chain’s earnings will increase significantly, and drive up the Playa

share price in the process.

Meanwhile, Playa’s planned investment of some US$200 million to build

another 760 hotel rooms in Jamaica to 2021 is said to have been delayed

by the significant cash requirements of the Dominican and Mexican

projects.

Since Zacca’s tenure as head of Sagicor Group, the management team

around him has undergone substantial changes. Rohan Miller and Ingrid

Card now have jobs at Sagicor Financial Corporation; Chorvelle Johnson

was headhunted from Proven Wealth to replace Donovan Perkins, who

left the group; Kevin Donaldson took over Miller’s former job as CEO of

Sagicor Investments; Alysia Moulton White now has the communications

portfolio that Card held; and most recently group vice-president for

strategy and chief information officer Phillip Armstrong has exited.

Sagicor is now seeking a new CIO, but Zacca says he has taken strategy

directly under his portfolio as group president.

The company’s head of enterprise risk and compliance, Hope Wint, also

resigned and has been replaced by Danielle Davidson, a new hire from

Bank of Jamaica, who started April 1.

Zacca doesn’t share the characterisation of these changes as a

management shake-up.

“It’s not a shake-up as such. It’s really just a realignment (based on) the

priorities of the company. We took the opportunity to do it all at once but

some of them have been in discussion for months,” he said.

“Change is good. I have my own team in place – a mixture of some of the

old with some of the new. They have brought a fresh approach, they are

energised, their teams are energised and the results are showing it. So, I

think that I am settled with my leadership team of the four business lines

and I feel I have a very strong team in place,” he said.

<< Back to news headlines >>

CHEC-mate! Friday 26th April, 2019 – Jamaica Observer

CHINA Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) is to spend just over $1

billion to cover the planning and development cost for the long-proposed

Naggo Head Technology Park in Portmore, St Catherine, and the Morant

Bay Urban Centre in St Thomas.

This will represent approximately eight per cent of the total cost of the two

developments which have been on Jamaica's wish list for years.

Last September the Government announced that both projects would be

fast-tracked after the Cabinet approved joint-venture agreements

between CHEC and the Factories Corporation of Jamaica (FCJ).

Details of both agreements were presented by Prime Minister Andrew

Holness in Parliament on Tuesday in response to questions posed by Peter

Bunting, the Opposition spokesman on industry, investment and

competitiveness.

According to Holness, the Naggo Head project will have rentable building

space of 810,000 square feet with the full development cost being

approximately US$75 million.

The Morant Bay project will have rentable building space of 365,000

square feet and is projected to cost approximately US$49.8 million.

The FCJ, which will be leading both developments, will contribute $1.78

billion in equity for the Naggo Head Technology Park and $800 million for

the Morant Bay Urban Centre.

Holness, in his response to the questions from Bunting, said the decision to

partner with CHEC on the two projects came after the Chinese firm made

an unsolicited offer to the FCJ.

“On receipt of the unsolicited investment proposal, FCJ assessed the

merits of the proposal and identified that the proposal was of a unique

nature,” said Holness.

He argued that the proposal was unique because CHEC, as a private

investor, would arrange 100 per cent financing to facilitate the

development of both projects without any Government or FCJ guarantee

and without any cash contribution from the State.

“It allows the FCJ, as an investor, to capitalise on the bilateral agreement

between the Jamaican and Chinese governments whereby funding, if

available, may be secured at a concessionary interest rate to be

provided by a Chinese financial institution.

“It [also] allows FCJ, without any cash injection, to maximise its return on

investment of up to 70 per cent, without which [it] may not have been

available to the GOJ,” added Holness.

The prime minister further argued that without going the route of a joint-

venture it would be challenging to find an investor to put up the large

amount of money that would be required to package the project to

present to a financial institution for consideration of funding.

Holness added that under the joint venture agreement each

development will be done by a project company, with CHEC holding a 30

per cent stake in each, the FCJ 29 per cent, and 41 per cent available to

other investors.

He said both projects will be financed by a combination of debt and

equity with the money to be sourced before the work begins.

“If the loan is not secured before start-up, then CHEC is obligated to use its

own resources to provide bridge financing to initiate the project and this

will be in the form of a loan to the project company, which interest rate

will not exceed the interest rate that would ordinarily be paid had the

financing been secured with China Development Bank,” said Holness.

While not giving a start date for the two projects, Holness said they are

scheduled to start at the same time and be completed together.

When done, the Morant Bay Urban Centre is slated to house the St

Thomas Municipal Council, St Thomas Parish Court, Tax Administration

(Revenue Centre), an office of the Passport Immigration and Citizenship

Agency and a branch of the National Insurance Fund.

These State agencies will account for approximately 40 per cent of the

available rental commercial with the other 60 per cent being made

available to other Government agencies and private sector investors for

rental.

The Naggo Head Technology Park is not planned to house any

Government agency as it is being targeted to offer world-class

information and communications technology/business process

outsourcing facilities.

It will also facilitate an appropriate mix of industry and services for

optimum functionality.

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Union serves 72-hour strike notice on JPS Friday 26th April, 2019 – Jamaica Observer

The Union of Clerical, Administrative and Supervisory Employees (UCASE)

says it has served a 72-hour strike notice on the Jamaica Public Service

Company (JPS) following a breakdown in wage and fringe benefits

negotiations.

In a statement a short while ago, UCASE said the notice will take effect as

of 4:30 pm today, April 26, and expire on 4:30 pm on Monday.

The UCASE strike notice follows a statement by JPS earlier today refuting

claims made by the union that there has been a breakdown in

negotiations.

The JPS argued that its last meeting with the union was on April 10, where

it made a number of proposals.

Subsequent to that, the JPS said the leadership of UCASE agreed to a

scheduled meeting for next Thursday, May 2, to continue the dialogue.

“In the meantime, they had indicated that they would be discussing the

proposals with the relevant staff. JPS is therefore surprised to hear that the

company has not delivered expected counter proposals to the union,”

the energy company said.

The company said it is now awaiting feedback on the various elements of

the proposal and looks forward to meeting with UCASE on May 2.

“JPS will also be meeting with the union and Ministry of Labour on Monday

April 29, and looks forward to eventually reaching an amicable

agreement for the benefit of all parties,” JPS said in its statement.

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Police destroy $2.6 billion worth of counterfeit goods Thursday 25th April, 2019 – Jamaica Gleaner

The police Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Division (C-TOC) today

destroyed just over $2.6 billion worth of counterfeit goods that were seized

between 2012 and last year.

At the same time, the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) has signalled that

it is taking steps to dispose of nearly $6 billion worth of counterfeit goods

that have accumulated at its warehouses in recent years.

Dave Hanson, manager for the JCA’s Eastern Region Contraband

Enforcement Team, said this includes $376.7 million worth of fake name

brand items such as handbags, footwear, cigarettes and cigars that were

seized last year.

The other items were seized in previous years and are now stacked in over

a dozen containers at JCA facilities.

They include:

Footwear - 98,000 pairs valued at $294 million

Apparel - 15,171 pieces valued at $27 million

Handbags and purses - 11,339 pieces valued at $9 million

Cigarettes - 1 million sticks valued at $42 million

Cigars - 2,110 sticks valued at $2.7 million

"We are not talking about chicken feed. These are significant sums that

we have taken out of the pockets of criminals. These are significant sums

that, when diverted, funds the underworld,” Hanson said.

He was speaking during a joint press conference between the JCA, the

police and the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office at the Police Officers'

Club, in St Andrew to mark Intellectual Property Week.

Assistant Superintendent Victor Barrett said the $2.6 billion worth of

counterfeit goods destroyed today were part of criminal cases that have

been completed.

Barrett also criticised the judiciary and lawmakers, arguing that the

penalties meted out to persons found with counterfeit goods amount to a

slap on the wrist.

Pointing to the billions of dollars in counterfeit goods seized by the police

and the JCA since 2012, Barrett said the fine for the period was $17 million.

"Something is wrong. But none of us have the capability or the authority to

get into the minds of the judiciary because they are acting within their

framework and the framework of the law," he said.

"I am going to be bold: The policymakers need to understand the dangers

and the issues associated with the fuelling of funds into organised crime

and that is why we need stiffer penalties and stronger laws so we can

better protect our citizens and rid the streets of these criminals,” he said.

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Pay day Wednesday 1st May, 2019 – Barbados Today

As of today, pensioners and other holders of Government paper will start

getting monthly payments as Government seeks to reduce its national

debt.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn made the

disclosure when he introduced the Debt Holder (Approval of Debt

Restructuring Amendment) Bill 2019 in the House of Assembly today.

“From today, over the next 42 months pensioners, as well as other bond

holders specifically, will receive monthly payments to allow that debt that

the Government of Barbados owes to be paid down. All of this as we seek

to put cash back into the economy and give the pensioners better

certainty as they manage their affairs. It is important and different to what

transpired. Under the previous system interest would have been paid semi-

annually,” Straughan said.

The Minister explained the payments are a follow on to lump sum

payments made last year and that the action was in keeping with what

the ministry had promised in the mini-Budget of June last year.

“One of the key things with respect to the provisions that are before the

House today relates to debt restructuring. After the exchange offer in

October of last year the Ministry of Finance undertook to prepay

pensioners.

He continued: “As you are aware in November of last year we would

have given a cash payment of up to $20 000 to pensioners. In effect

altering the terms of what we would have offered in October. At the end

of March this year we made an additional payment of up to $30 000. So

that anybody who would have held Government paper up to $50 000

would have been liquidated with cash.”

The economist lamented that the cost of servicing debt is taking a toll on

the economy and asked fellow parliamentarians to vote in favour of

passing the bill as the plan to make monthly payments would bring ease

to pensioners.

“Our debt service was too high. The cost of servicing that debt was

unsustainable. These provisions we are asking the House to put on a legal

foot with respect to the prepayment clause. Pensioners on a fixed income

would get as much relief as Government can afford to give them,” the

MP for Christ Church East said.

Straughn further explained: “The debt of the country is one of those areas

where you have to be constantly addressing in order to keep the

economy stable. These commitments I believe will provide greater levels

of stability. We will be well on our way to reducing the debt to GDP to 60

per cent over the next 14 years.”

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Tank plan tottering Tuesday 30th April, 2019 – Nation News

It appears the Barbados Water Authority’s (BWA) attempts to make rural

Barbadians owners of their own water tanks have fallen flat.

The BWA launched its personal tank programme in 2017 but, despite

reported positive initial responses, it seems hardly anyone took the offer

and now it may be no more.

The programme was launched in partnership with the City of Bridgetown

Credit Union (COB) and initially offered to residents of St John, St Joseph,

St Andrew, St Peter and St Thomas, who were experiencing prolonged

water outages, before being expanded island-wide.

It included a 400-gallon tank, pump, fittings and installation under a five-

year, interest-free, hire purchase agreement. It was to be serviced by the

BWA Rapid Response Unit during outages.

COB chief executive officer Steve Belle told THE NATION the programme

was no longer an option, at least from their end. He said there was not

much buy-in after it was launched.

<< Back to news headlines >>

Barbadians repaying trust loan Wednesday 1st May, 2019 – Barbados Today

Barbadians appear to be keeping up with loan payments to the Trust

Loan Fund, Government’s $10 million financial lifeline for startup

businesses.

Minister of Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Commerce, Dwight

Sutherland, has revealed that despite there being a month remaining of a

six-month grace period, persons who have borrowed from the fund, have

already begun to repay. He pointed out that while some may have been

sceptical about a loan system that was not collateral-based, early

indications were quite positive for the revolving loan scheme.

“The repayment of these loans is supposed to come at the end of May.

Initially we had given a six-month grace period, we recognize this was a

long period, but people have started repaying the loan within two months

of us issuing the loan. People are definitely living up to the whole idea of

trust, which is the whole idea behind these loans,” Sutherland told

Barbados TODAY recently.

He added, “The people of this country trust us to look after their affairs, so I

see no reason why we can’t have faith and trust in the people of

Barbados.”

Additionally, the Minister revealed that the number of loan recipients has

dramatically increased from 700 last month to over 2000 persons.

“I want to thank Prime Minister Mia Mottley for entrusting that programme

to me. We have distributed over 2000 loans thus far. I have ensured that

loans were distributed throughout all of the constituencies because we try

to be fair. Dwight Sutherland alone winning his seat in the next election will

do nothing for this country, so one can’t go about trying to be self-serving

because at the end of the day we are all Barbadians,” he said.

The Minister told Barbados TODAY that the majority of the loans have

gone towards businesses in the service industry.

“We have a lot of applications for businesses within the service sector. We

are talking within the area of cultural industry and the tourism sector.

Those have accounted for more than 50 per cent of the loans,”

Sutherland revealed.

At the launch last November, Sutherland pointed out that the Trust Loan

Fund, a new initiative of Government, was conceptualized to evolve

Barbados into a world leader in entrepreneurial development.

“The short-term objective is to create a framework that would maximize

the income-earning potential of individuals, with a more medium to long-

term view of having a successful entrepreneur in every Barbadian

household, which will ultimately allow for the penetration of the Barbados

brand into regional and international markets,” he explained then.

Under the programme, applicants can qualify for loans of up to $5,000,

with an opportunity to borrow twice the amount on successful repayment

of the initial loan.

<< Back to news headlines >>

New owners for Tridents Tuesday 30th April, 2019 – Nation News

Embattled Indian business tycoon Vijay Mallya will not have ownership of

Barbados Tridents for the upcoming Caribbean Premier League (CPL)

season, organisers said here on Tuesday.

Speaking at a media conference, CPL chief executive Damien

O’Donohoe said the league was in the process of wrapping up discussions

with the relevant parties and new owners should be in place before the

players draft scheduled for May 22 in London.

Mallya is currently fighting extradition from the United Kingdom to his

native India, where he is wanted by authorities to face alleged bank

fraud and money laundering charges amounting to nearly US$1 billion.

His mounting legal and financial woes have also impacted the franchise,

with players yet to be paid in full for the 2018 season, which wrapped up

last September.

<< Back to news headlines >>

Firms eye ResLife’s medical business Tuesday 30th April, 2019 – Barbados Today

Five firms are vying for the medical insurance portfolio of Resolution Life

Insurance Company Limited (ResLife), and by June one of them is to be

chosen.

With the impending closure of the ResLife operation, the company

recently advertised for expressions of interest in its medical portfolio.

Companies were given to April 24, 2019 to indicate an interest and ResLife

is expected to complete the selection process in May.

“This will lead to an offer of new coverage for these health insurance

policyholders in June 2019,” the company’s Chief Executive Officer Cheryl

Senhouse said in a statement issued in response to queries from Barbados

TODAY.

The process is designed to provide stability and continued protection for

ResLife’s health insurance policyholders who have maintained their

coverage with the state-owned insurer, the statement added.

Without naming them, Senhouse pointed out that ResLife received

expressions of interest from five insurance companies, adding that the

company’s objective is to “ensure policyholders are treated fairly and not

suffer a lapse in their health coverage”.

The statement added: “Pursuant to the shareholder mandate of March

20, 2019, that ResLife liquidates and dissolves its operations and protects

the interest of policyholders, Reslife now seeks expressions of interest.”

ResLife’s chairman Tony Hoyos told Barbados TODAY that before

management could put forward a recommendation to the board due

diligence had to be conducted.

“However, that transfer of the medical portfolio is something that we want

to conclude as quickly as we can so that people’s medical insurance

doesn’t lapse. But at the same time, you have to do a fair amount of due

diligence,” he said.

The main shareholder of the insurance company, which was incorporated

in 2015, is New Life Investment Company Inc., owned by the Government.

Since the announcement of the planned liquidation of ResLife and the

wrap-up of its operations a month ago by the Prime Minister, policyholders

have been informed by the company that it had ceased accepting

premium payments, and that those who paid premiums after March 31,

would be refunded.

No specific date has been announced for ResLife’s closure, but

management is working with stakeholders to complete policyholder

payments by the end of July 2019.

Policyholders and claimants are to benefit from a settlement package of

$103 million in cash payout and $300 million in bonds.

This will see eligible policyholders or claimants due less than $20,000,

receiving cash, and the balance in 15-year bonds.

While the closure of the company would affect just over 30 jobs, Barbados

TODAY was unable to ascertain what percentage of the insurance market

the company catered to.

ResLife was established primarily to take control of the life insurance

portfolio that was previously held by CLICO International Life Insurance

Limited in Barbados.

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