Public Sector Oversight Committee Launched, Moody’s Upgrade

Here is the latest weekly digest (Nov 21st – Nov 27th, 2016). A quick easy read of this week’s top and most relevant business news. No fluff, just the highlights.

National Highlights

• New Government oversight committee launched, the Public Sector Transformation Oversight Committee (PSTOC). This is the third government committee and joins the Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC) and the Economic Growth Committee (EGC).
• Moody’s Investor Services Upgraded Jamaica Sovereign Rating (from Caa2 to B3) and Revised their Outlook from Positive to Stable

• New Kingston, the premier business district in Jamaica’s capital, is to be transformed into a ‘smart city’, which means persons who live and work in the area will find themselves plugged into technology grids for the seamless delivery of services
• The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) is assuring authorised foreign exchange dealers and cambios that there is nothing sinister about the decision to institute a multiple-price auction system – What is proposed is for the central bank to buy foreign exchange competitively from the market rather than buying a set proportion of all their purchases. Under the current system, authorised dealers and cambios are required to surrender up to 25 per cent of their purchases to the BOJ.
• It takes 268 hours to pay taxes within Jamaica and requires 11 payments. Comparatively, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) it takes 12 hours. Both UAE and Qatar hold the top spot as the easiest places to pay taxes. Chad was the worst on the list, at 766 hours to pay. – PwC Tax Survey results out.
• Local government elections will be held in Jamaica tomorrow, November 28, 2016.
• Fidel Castro passed away this week at 90 years old.

Companies & The Markets

• UC Rusal said on Tuesday that the sale of Apart to Jiuquan Iron & Steel (Group) Company (JISCO) Limited was now finalised, marking its exit from an investment it first made nine years ago. The bauxite and alumina operation was sold for US$299 million to the Chinese state industrial group, as first announced in July.
• Kingston Properties Limited (KPL) expects to announce new acquisitions before year end – Kevin G Richards, chief executive officer of the real estate management company
• Leading networking and telecommunications manufacturer Huawei and Intcomex launched their partnership to build the presence of the Huawei brand in the Jamaican market and the region on Tuesday night.
• It was announced that Rainforest Seafoods has pumped US$2 million in the build-out of a value-added processing facility in Belize. The facility, which was formally launched on November 17, is the culmination of Rainforest Seafood’s 18-year presence in Belize and forms part of the company’s drive for regional expansion and vertical integration. Rainforest exports seafood throughout the Caribbean, US, Singapore, and Taiwan through its Belize plant, and is actively seeking to get a foothold in new markets throughout Europe.

• AgroGrace has rebranded as H&L Agro in a renewed effort to preserve the legacy of the 80-year-old institution, with a seamless integration of products and services to create a more robust agricultural industry.
• Caribbean Flavours & Fragrances (CFF) has added three new Caribbean markets (Dominican Republic, Cuba & Haiti) and is positioning itself to deliver increased supply overall through the upgrade of its Kingston-based manufacturing laboratory.
• The Jamaica Stock Exchange launched their loyalty card. Separately, E-pay Ja, a reward card for government employees is also being promoted for sign-up. Govt workers can visit https://epayja.com/

Thanks for reading Vol. 2016 Issue No. 7 of our weekly digest. ( 21.11.2016 – 27.11.2016 ). All Weekly reviews can be viewed here.