🔥What's Hot in Business
Seprod workers returnSeprod's laid off workers are back on the job The group has recalled all one hundred and forty-one affected employees and resumed full production at its juice and dairy facility, three weeks after sending them home amid inventory backlogs and market pressures. According to Radio Jamaica News, all the affected workers have now returned. 📊POLL QUESTION
Rock Mobile gets financingNew broadband option for Jamaicans? Could Jamaicans finally be getting closer to another broadband option? The European Investment Bank has approved four million euros, approximately four and a half million US dollars, in financing for Rock Mobile. The Observer reports that the funding will support a twenty-nine-million-euro project to deploy a four-G wireless network across the Kingston Metropolitan Area and surrounding parishes. The project includes about one hundred network nodes at existing tower sites, along with the systems needed to deliver fixed wireless internet. The aim is more competition, better service and wider access. But more than five years after getting its licence, Rock Mobile has yet to fully launch commercial services. Sagicor shareholder voteMajor decision to be made Sagicor shareholders have a major decision coming up next week. On October 28, shareholders will vote on a proposed reorganisation bringing Sagicor Group Jamaica and Sagicor Life Incorporated under a larger Caribbean holding company. Under the proposal, each Sagicor Group Jamaica share would be exchanged for one share in Sagicor Group Caribbean, which would replace it on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. The Observer reports that the enlarged group also plans to raise one hundred and twenty million US dollars through equity and debt in 2027. Keeping the same number of shares does not mean keeping the same percentage ownership, because additional shares would be issued as part of the deal. The proposed group would have its operational headquarters in Jamaica. The transaction still requires approval. Trinidad proposes digital services VATStreaming service costs going up? In Trinidad and Tobago… your streaming bill could be going up. Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo has proposed a twelve and a half percent Value Added Tax (VAT) on digital services supplied by overseas providers. That includes platforms such as Netflix, Hulu and Disney Plus. The measure is scheduled to take effect on March 1, 2027. Foreign suppliers would register, collect and remit the tax electronically through a simplified system. It mirrors Jamaica’s announced plan to apply GCT to overseas digital services consumed here. Jamaica’s proposal targets implementation in the final quarter of this financial year. The argument in both countries is similar: overseas providers should face more consistent tax treatment with local businesses. For consumers, that could mean higher subscription bills. Salesforce agrees to buy BrazeBetting on AI And internationally, Salesforce is making another multibillion-dollar bet on artificial intelligence. Reuters reports that the business software company has agreed to acquire Braze in a deal valued at about 5.66 billion US dollars. Braze helps businesses personalise the messages and offers customers receive, using tools that respond to their behaviour in real time. Salesforce is offering forty-seven dollars fifty cents in cash per share, about fifty-eight percent above Braze’s previous closing price. The deal still needs the required approvals. It’s another sign of how much companies are willing to spend on technology designed to reach customers more effectively. Watch Taking StockCatch What's Hot every week in Taking Stock with Kalilah Reynolds! New episodes live every Tuesday at 8pm on YouTube and your favourite podcast platforms. 💰Let's get this money!
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