• Data from the 2023 Economic and Social Survey of Jamaica (ESSJ) shows that micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) have made steady gains in their numbers and sales compared to 2022. Sales from MSMEs rose by 1.2%, totalling $207.4Bn, driven by the performance of micro and medium-sized firms across various sectors, including Electricity and Water Supply, Mining and Quarrying, and Manufacturing.
• Details were provided by the Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Wayne Henry, at the opening of the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce’s ‘MSME Business Roadshow’, on January 16^th.
• “Providing micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) with the opportunities to access services and facilitating access to financing to bolster their initiatives, represents a pivotal stride towards advancing economic development and mitigating poverty,” Dr. Henry said.
• The Director General noted that data from the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) showed that Loans to Local Business Firms increased by 18.5% in 2023. Additionally, government initiatives, like the provision of funds to organisations for on-lending, tax incentives, and business development programmes, alongside private-sector initiatives, played crucial roles in fostering this growth.
• On average, business and consumer confidence improved, with the Index of Business Confidence averaging 139.8 points and the Index of Consumer Confidence rising to 163.0 points, indicating a positive economic outlook.
• Underscoring the critical role of the MSME sector in advancing the fundamental components of Jamaica’s economic structure, Dr Henry said that they play essential roles in promoting equity, preserving wealth, fostering economic growth, generating employment opportunities, facilitating sustained development, encouraging innovation, and expanding the private sector.

(Source: JIS)

• Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, will set the tone at the Jamaica Stock Exchange’s (JSE’s) three-day conference from January 21 – 23, 2025 under the theme “Safeguarding the Capital Markets: People, Opportunities and Progress”. Prime Minister Holness will address the topic ‘Fueling Economic Development by Fostering a Pro-Business Environment’.
• The JSE conference will be an ‘in-person’ event with limited virtual access according to organisers in Kingston who expect hundreds of participants from Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America, and several CARICOM countries.
• World-class leaders and industry experts from various sectors will gather at the annual event to share success secrets and help demystify complex topics in the presence of other leading entrepreneurs and noted professionals in their respective fields.
• The early-year conference is usually a fillip for participants to gain insights to help them succeed. It will feature addresses from other stakeholders including Finance Minister Mrs Fayval Williams with her address on ‘Empowering a Nation: Transforming Government Assets into Wealth for the People.’; Opposition Spokesman on Finance and Chairman of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) legislator Julian J. Robinson who will detail strategies on ‘Empowering People by Providing Opportunities for Progress’; and Mr Gregory Fisher, Managing Director and Head of EM Fixed Income Wealth Management at Jefferies on the topic, ‘The World Economy, Opportunities and Threats in 2025 and Beyond’.

(Source: JSE)

• Guyana's economy achieved its fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth in 2024, expanding 43.6% as oil output and exports showed solid increases, Guyana’s Finance minister said on Friday, January 17^th, but the expansion is expected to slow this year.
• The oil sector expanded 57.7%, while the non-oil sector grew 13.1% last year, the minister said.
• Oil output rose to an average of 616,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 391,000 bpd the previous year as a consortium led by U.S. major Exxon Mobil which controls all production in the country, continued expanding operations and completed a key upgrade at its offshore facilities. A fourth floating oil production facility expected this year will add 250,000 bpd of output capacity to the Exxon consortium's operations.
• The nation's oil revenue increased to $2.57Bn in 2024, including crude sales made by the government and $348Mn in royalties received from the Exxon group, compared with $1.62Bn in 2023, including $218.1Mn in royalties.
• However, economic growth is expected to slow in 2025, with a 10.6% expansion mainly fueled by the non-oil sector for the first time in years. Oil sector expansion is expected to slow from recent years to 9.5% growth, due to lower crude prices.
• Guyana forecasts an average of $71.9 per barrel for its crude this year, down from $78-80 last year, which would secure about $2.2Bn in revenue from oil exports.

(Source: Reuters)

• In its quarterly World Economic Prospects report, published on Friday, January 17^th, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) kept its growth forecast for the Latin American economy for 2025 stable at 2.5%.
• Among the largest countries in the region, the IMF maintains Brazil’s growth forecast of 2.2%, raises Mexico’s growth forecast by one-tenth (1.4%), and expects a strong rebound in the Argentine economy (5.0%) after the 2024 recession.
• According to new IMF calculations, Brazil’s economy will slow down after recording robust growth of 3.7% in 2024. The calculations revise the forecast released last October by seven-tenths of a percentage point.
• IMF sources acknowledged that the Fund’s main concern regarding the Latin American economy is the inflationary pressure in Brazil – which led the Central Bank to raise interest rates to 12.25%.
• Additionally, the IMF report raised Mexico’s economic growth forecasts for 2025 by one-tenth to 1.4% and kept 2% unchanged for 2026. However, the IMF indicated that “economic activity is moderating in Mexico, with a slowdown in private consumption and investment, and a decrease in employment growth.”
• However, from 2025, the IMF forecasts a significant rebound, with growth of 5.0% that would also be maintained in 2026, representing an upward revision of three-tenths for next year.

(Sources: IMF & Dominican Today)

• Newly sworn-in President Donald Trump vowed on Monday that the United States would take back the Panama Canal as he delivered an inauguration speech in which he invoked the 19th-century expansionist doctrine of "Manifest Destiny.
• Doubling down on his pre-inauguration threat to reimpose U.S. control over the canal, Trump again accused Panama of breaking the promises it made for the final transfer of the strategic waterway in 1999 and of ceding its operation to China - claims that the Panamanian government has vehemently denied. "We didn't give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we're taking it back," Trump said.
• He gave no further details on when or how he intended to do that but had previously refused to rule out the possible use of military force, which drew criticism from Washington's Latin American friends and foes alike. Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino on Monday responded on X that his country has administered the canal responsibly for world trade, including for the U.S., and that it "is and will continue to be Panamanian."
• Trump's reiteration of his threat about the Panama Canal as he began his second term was his most blatant mention of an agenda for territorial expansion that he has laid out in recent weeks.
• In the run-up to his inauguration, he had also said he wanted to acquire Greenland, portraying the overseas Danish territory as crucial for U.S. national security interests, and mused about turning Canada into a U.S. state.

Source: (Reuters)

• Chinese officials and ordinary people are hopeful but on edge as Donald Trump returns to the White House, eager to avoid a repeat of the bruising trade war that drove a wedge between the economic superpowers during his first term.
• Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, in meetings with Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other members of the U.S. business community in Washington ahead of Trump's inauguration, said he hoped U.S. companies would "take root" in China and help to stabilise bilateral relations, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
• When Trump was last president, he heaped tariffs on more than $300Bn of Chinese imports. In recent months, he has said he would add tariffs of at least 10% on top of what is already imposed on Chinese goods, a move that would hurt China at a time when its economy is struggling to find a firm footing.
• At the same time, the U.S. president-elect made the seemingly conciliatory move of inviting Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration on Monday. Xi sent Han in his place, a gesture of goodwill given that China was only represented by its ambassador at the previous two U.S. presidential inaugurations.
• At their meeting on Sunday, Han told Musk, appointed by Trump to lead a department aimed at creating a more efficient U.S. government, that he "welcomed Tesla

(Source: Reuters)

• Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill, wants to see more micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) listed on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange this year.
• He urged MSMEs to take advantage of the recent amendment of the Income Tax Act, which allows companies to raise up to $750Mn during an initial public offering, an increase of $250Mn. Senator Hill, who was addressing Wednesday’s (January 15) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, reasoned that the aim is to build companies that can compete not just in Jamaica but regionally and internationally.
• “Two of our biggest companies have big companies in the United States – Grace and Jamaica Broilers Group. More than 50 percent of Jamaica Broilers Group’s income comes not from Jamaica but from the United States, where they own a lot of companies,” he said. Senator Hill shared that trade data show that between 1960 and 2021, negative trade balances were recorded in 60 of the 61 years.
• “Unless we go and find new markets for our products and services and new markets for investments to come into Jamaica, we’re not going to be the rich country that we have to be,” he said.
• The 48 companies currently listed on the Junior Market benefit from a range of tax incentives that include conditional relief from income tax payments, exemption from transfer tax and stamp duty on transfer of shares. The Junior Market had a market capitalisation of J$148.5Bn as at the end of December 2024, having started with J$785.0Mn in 2009.

(Source: JIS)

• This year’s third annual Global Tourism Resilience Conference will focus on the integration of technology solutions in bolstering the resilience and sustainability of the global tourism industry.
• Portfolio Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, said that the conference “will explore cutting-edge technologies and strategies that are crucial for the sector’s adaptability and long-term sustainability, especially in the wake of recent global challenges”.
• The conference is expected to cover topics including the strategic applications of digital solutions to improve resilience and sustainability of tourist destinations, leveraging big data and artificial intelligence (AI) for effective resource management and disaster preparedness, and ensuring robust cybersecurity to protect digital and physical assets.
• The Discussions will also focus on innovative financial strategies with stakeholders like the International Tourism Investment Corporation Limited to support the funding of digital resilience projects.
• Activities will also include a practical demonstration of Jamaica’s resilient tourism infrastructure and will feature a showcase of the latest technological innovations from leading firms, including advanced tools for crisis management and sustainable tourism practices.

(Source: JIS)

• There has been major improvement across all commodities in Guyana’s mining sector. During 2024, mining activities in total were the second-highest contributor to Guyana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
• With developmental projects across the country in various sectors, the demand for building materials such as stone, sand and loom increased significantly in 2024.
• The Minister noted there has been significant investment in the quarrying sector, especially in the production of stone aggregates. In 2023, the production was at 1,851,152 tonnes, and in 2024, at 3,338,760 metric tonnes. This represents an approximate 180% increase from 2023 to 2024.
• A massive increase was also seen in the production of sand and loom. Loom production in 2023 was at 949,000 tonnes and increased to over 1.7 million tonnes in 2024. Similarly, for 2023, production of sand was at 8 million tonnes, while in 2024, it increased to 11.7 million tonnes.
• Minister Bharrat said this was a result of the confidence from investors. He further noted that when the current administration took over, there were seven operational quarries. Currently, there are seventeen operational quarries.
• A few of these existing quarries are expanding their operation and investment, therefore also expanding their production. He also noted that another five new quarries may become operational in 2025, which would increase production to more than four million tonnes.
• Minister Bharrat emphasized that the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) will continue collaborating with stakeholders to meet local demand.

 (Source: Newsroom Guyana)

• Economic activity in Brazil exceeded market expectations in November, official data showed on Thursday, adding to a string of stronger-than-anticipated performances despite the central bank's ongoing monetary tightening cycle. The IBC-Br index, a leading indicator of gross domestic product (GDP), rose 0.1% in seasonally adjusted terms from October, while economists polled by Reuters had expected no change.
• On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the index - which incorporates proxies for output in agriculture, industry, and services, as well as tax data on production - climbed 4.1% compared to November 2023 and increased 3.6% over 12 months.
• The positive performance came despite weaker-than-expected data in November for the service sector, the main driver of Brazil's economy, along with negative readings for retail sales and industrial output.
• Finance Minister Fernando Haddad has stated that Latin America's largest economy likely expanded by 3.6% in 2024, more than double the forecasts by private economists at the beginning of last year. The expansion has been fueled by strong household consumption and rising investment amid a tight labor market.

(Source: Reuters)