Newsletters
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December 28, 20201,823
Belize to launch NBB Pay e-wallet in early 2021: CARICOM BUSINESS
The National Bank of Belize (NBB) has solicited the expertise of Barbados-based financial technology firm Bitt to create and launch a digital wallet that will complement the bank’s mobile banking services. “NBB is licensing a digital currency infrastructure from Bitt to support retail and business users’ access to simple secure and efficient payment solutions as they recover from the global…
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December 21, 20202,953
Internet access to be declared a public good in Jamaica: CARICOM BUSINESS
The Government of Jamaica is to roll out a broadband expansion programme, dubbed the National Broadband Initiative, which will seek to provide Internet connection to every household by 2025. According to Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Daryl Vaz, the Government will make access to the Internet a public good. The objectives of the initiative are to: achieve universal access;…
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December 14, 20201,424
30% of tourism workers set to resume work amidst fallout: CARICOM BUSINESS
Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett says since its borders reopened in June, they have welcomed 300,000 visitors yielding some US$150 million. According to Bartlett, if the current arrival trend is sustained over the winter season, then about 30% of the 170,000 workers directly employed in the tourism industry should return to work. In the meantime, tourist arrivals in Dominica have…
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December 7, 20201,907
Jamaica moves towards an Independent Fiscal Commission: CARICOM BUSINESS
The Government of Jamaica has initiated action to institutionalise fiscal transparency and strengthen its fiscal responsibility framework by way of an Independent Fiscal Commission. This was effected through tabling a Bill to that effect in the House of Representatives. According to Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke, “the fiscal commission will be the guardian and interpreter of Jamaica’s fiscal rules, monitoring…
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November 30, 20202,524
LIAT is back! – CARICOM BUSINESS
Commencing November 30, sub-regional carrier LIAT will be resuming its commercial services by providing services to a limited number of destinations and routes. According to a November 25 press release, “The airline will operate flights 5 days per week to 7 destinations across the LIAT network. The seven destinations are: Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St Kitts, and St…
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November 23, 20201,838
St Lucia to introduce Tourism Levy December 15: CARICOM BUSINESS
The Government of St Lucia will introduce a tourism levy effective December 15, 2020 to aid in the financing of the industry marketing and development. In a two-tier system, guests will be charged either US$3 or US$6 per person per night depending on a room rate below or above US$120. A rate of 50% of the tourism levy will apply…
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November 17, 20202,213
New company registrations soar in Jamaica: CARICOM BUSINESS
Jamaica has recorded 3,586 new company registrations for the period January 1 to November 11, 2020. That’s according to data produced by the Companies Office of Jamaica and released on social media by Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke who noted that “in the middle of the pandemic and record economic contraction, Jamaicans are forming new companies at a rate not…
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November 12, 20201,525
Youth take Centre Stage as CARICOM Energy Month Activities continue
Under the theme, “YOUth at the Centre of CARICOM’s Energy Future”, young people from across CARICOM member states will join energy experts, thought leaders and policymakers at the CARICOM Energy Month (#CEM2020) Virtual Youth Forum set to take place on Friday 13 November 2020 at 1 PM AST. The event is a collaboration between the CARICOM Secretariat, the UK Government,…
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November 12, 20201,277
CARICAD’s Transition to Remote Work during COVID-19: NEWSLETTER
Extract: “Fortunately, CARICAD was able to pivot to remote work for all staff members using the remote policy that was already in place. The internal experience on remote work was compared with information available from other sources. “The analysis offered perspectives and discussion points that supported our full-blown remote work experience and operations when the government ordered the shutdown. As…
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November 9, 20201,664
S&P lauds Barbados’ post-COVID economic performance: CARICOM BUSINESS
International ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has maintained its long and short-term credit ratings of B-/B with a stable outlook for the Barbados economy. “The stable outlook reflects our view that the COVID-19 pandemic will have a significant impact on Barbados’ economy and that the recovery will be more subdued than anticipated,” S&P said. The ratings agency pointed out…
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