Category: Caribbean

With a lack of foreign exchange, international regulatory pressure and shortage of bankable risks, Belize’s young banking system still has serious deficits.

The Caribbean republic of Trinidad & Tobago has created a vibrant capital market that seeks to act as a regional banking center, serving public – and priavte – sector institutions.

Hurricane Keith shattered Belize last year. The country is now beefing up its infrastructure and revamping its ports to facilitate trade and attract investment.

Twenty years after gaining independence from the UK, Belize is struggling to define itself while dealing with mounting debts. It is also trying to diversify its agricultural-based economy.

The government is cleaning up the banking system, but Jamaicans are still paying a heavy price for botched financial liberalization in the 1990s.

Jamaica wants to become the silicon island of the Caribbean. Tourism has spawned a vibrant services industry and the country hopes today’s call center employees will be tomorrow’s programmers.

Jamaica is shaking off years of recession and the effects of a severe banking crisis. But the country still must deal with a debt mountain and a difficult business climate.

Jamaica’s government faces a prolonged struggle to manage its debt mountain despite privatizations and the sale of financial institutions. Now the government is turning increasingly to the international capital markets.

Government reforms spurred the rapid expansion of duty-free industrial parks in the Dominican Republic over the last four years. It?s time to reap the payoff now that the Caribbean Basin countries have finally been given the same benefits as Mexico in apparel exports to the US.