US-based Cingular Wireless has agreed to sell its Caribbean operations to Bermuda-based Digicel Group, in a deal that will expand the company’s network to Anguilla, St. Kitts, Nevis, Antigua, Barbuda, and Dominica. Digicel promises to create a “seamless pan-Caribbean telecommunications network,” and announced a roaming agreement with Cingular. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in four to six months.
Category: Caribbean
Posted inDaily Brief
Belize’s Rating Cut
Standard & Poor’s cut Belize’s foreign-currency debt rating two levels to CCC, or eight levels below investment grade, citing the country’s increasing debt load and lack of access to financing. S&P has a “negative” outlook on Belize’s rating. Belize faces amortizations this year of $150 million, compared with $139 million in international reserves. The country’s debt-to-gross domestic product ratio climbed to 97 percent last year, from 85 percent in 2003.
Posted inMagazine
At the Forefront
Oil wealth is often considered a curse, but Trinidad & Tobago – behind
the foresight of its leaders – has built the Caribbean’s most dynamic
economy on a large and well-managed oil and gas industry.
Posted inMagazine
Waiting for the Next Big One
Last year’s hurricanes spotlighted the Caribbean’s vulnerability. How will this year treat the region?
Posted inMagazine
Davids and Goliaths
The Caribbean is becoming a battleground where small, but nimble local banks face off against powerful international competitors.
Posted inMagazine
Gas-Fired Development
Trinidad is using its oil and gas wealth wisely to build an advanced society. Will it be able to forge crucial international partnerships in time?
Posted inMagazine
Hunting the Green Flash
Caribbean countries are looking for ways to fuel long-term growth. Will that prove as elusive as the legendary green flash at sunset?
Posted inMagazine
Wooing the Europeans
Wall Street is wary of Jamaica, but not its counterpart in Europe. Retail investors are snapping up Jamaica’s bonds – and clamoring for more.
Posted inMagazine
Bond Market Battle
Pointing to unused money in investors’ portfolios and the unmet needs of smaller companies, Caribbean brokerage firms are gearing up to rival banks’ bond business.
Posted inMagazine
Branching Beyond Home Markets
Caribbean banks are looking for scale as they assume more aggressive pan-regional strategies. Trinidadian players are leading the pack.