$100 Oil: Guyana vs Trinidad. Who Benefits More?

Oil is back above US$100 per barrel, but the Caribbean’s two biggest energy producers, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, will not benefit equally.

Guyana produces crude oil, so higher Brent prices can translate more directly into higher export revenue.

And Guyana’s share of production is also rising...

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Investors snap up US$1 billion Jamaica bond

Big big bond!

International investors have responded strongly to the Government of Jamaica’s latest US$1-billion bond offer.

Demand was high enough for Jamaica to secure an interest rate of 6.25 per cent, lower than the initial guidance of approximately 6.5 per cent.

About US$600 million of the proceeds will be used to repurchase portions of three older government bonds, while the remaining US$400 million will support general budgetary needs. The refinancing is expected to reduce Jamaica’s annual interest bill by approximately US$3.5 million.

📊POLL QUESTION

Does the strong demand for Jamaica’s US$1-billion bond make you more confident in the country’s economic outlook?

Yes, definitely

Somewhat

I need more information

Scotia Group Q3 profits rise 10%

Profit increase!

Scotia Group Jamaica recorded a 10% increase in third-quarter profit to 6.1 billion Jamaican dollars.

Net interest income grew 10% to 14 billion dollars, while net fee and commission income jumped 32% to 2.5 billion dollars. Net loans increased 16% to 395 billion dollars.

The results come ahead of an October 7 meeting at which minority shareholders will vote on Scotiabank’s proposal to acquire the shares it does not already own for $61.50 each and take Scotia Group private.

Tourism demand outpaces Jamaica's recovery

Industry back?

Demand for travel to Jamaica is reportedly running ahead of the country’s post-Hurricane Melissa recovery.

Flights are operating at an average load factor of 85%, despite the number of available airline seats falling 22% year over year. Approximately 30% of the hotel rooms affected by the hurricane are also still unavailable.

Meanwhile, the Disney Destiny is scheduled to make its inaugural call at Falmouth on October 13, bringing nearly 2,800 cruise passengers. Jamaica recorded more than 736,000 cruise passengers between January and July.

Barbados turns to Suriname for building materials

Domestic supplies decline

Barbados is exploring Suriname as a new source of building materials as its domestic supplies decline.

Suriname’s state-owned mining company, Grassalco, is emerging as the leading prospective supplier of silica sand and stone. Barbados says the materials are needed to increase the pace and scale of its infrastructure investments.

The two countries are also looking to revive economic agreements reached in 2018 but disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

L'Oreal overtakes LVMH in market value

France's most valuable listed company

Cosmetics giant L’Oréal has overtaken luxury conglomerate LVMH to become France’s most valuable listed company.

L’Oréal’s market value reached approximately 203 billion euros, compared with 201 billion euros for LVMH.

L’Oréal’s shares have gained five per cent this year, while LVMH has fallen 35 per cent amid weaker luxury spending, particularly in China. It is the first time since 2017 that a company outside the luxury-fashion sector has ended a trading day at the top of the French stock market.

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