• LASCO Microfinance Limited, a subsidiary of LASCO Financial Services Limited, received approval of its application for licensing of its institution to operate as a microcredit institution, according to section 10 (3) (a) of the Microcredit Act, 2021, from the Bank of Jamaica.
• The Microcredit Act (‘the Act’) was passed in January 2021, with the aim of licensing and regulating microcredit institutions (MCIs) that provide financing to individuals as well as, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
• This brings the total number of licensed microcredit institutions to 21, of which 3 are listed companies on the JSE.
• This means that LASF through its subsidiary is authorized to continue its operations in lending to micro, small and medium-sized businesses and to individuals as defined under the Microcredit Act. Further, over time given the competitive nature of the microcredit financing market, these requirements will not only help to regulate the industry but also reduce exorbitant charges, which bodes well for customers.

(Source: JSE)

• GK Capital Management Limited, Lead Broker, has advised that the Additional Public Offering of ordinary shares in the capital of 138 Student Living Jamaica Limited was closed on October 23, 2023.
• The company is now preparing to move forward with using the funds raised to reduce a portion of its $4.2Bn debt stock. This will reduce its interest expenses, improve the bottom line and allow the company to consistently pay dividends to its shareholders.
• 138 Student Living offers long-term student accommodation in 1,464 rooms and short-term accommodation in 72 rooms at four locations on the UWI Mona Campus, under two Concession Agreements.

(Source: JSE)

• Suriname offered to swap $675 million of dollar bonds for new notes, including those linked to oil royalties, as the South American nation wraps up the final steps of its debt restructuring.
• The government invited investors of debt due in 2023 and 2026 to exchange their holdings for new 10-year bonds with a 7.95% interest rate, according to a Monday statement.
• Suriname will also issue notes that pay out after the government receives at least $100 million of oil royalties from an offshore reserve known as Block 58. Once that revenue threshold is reached, officials will allocate 30% of annual royalties to make payments on the instrument until it matures in 2050.
• This is the latest step in a restructuring process that’s been watched as a potential blueprint for other commodity-producing nations trapped in painful and protracted defaults.
• A committee of bondholders said they backed the deal, which will help the nation clear its default. The new security, dubbed a value recovery instrument, “is structured to ensure that Suriname will benefit from a significant majority of anticipated oil production proceeds while enabling noteholders to receive adequate repayment of their claims in a timely manner,” the group wrote in an email statement.
• The committee includes Franklin Templeton Investment Management, Eaton Vance Management, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co., Greylock Capital Management and T. Rowe Price Associates. Its members collectively hold more than the 75% threshold in each of the notes to trigger the collective action clauses and apply the restructuring terms to all outstanding notes, they said.
• Suriname has lingered in default for more than three years before striking an agreement with creditors in May. Its dollar bonds have surged 21% this year, among the top performers in emerging markets.

(Source: Bloomberg)

• Colombia's central bank board will keep its interest rate stable at its meeting next week, a Reuters poll forecast on Monday, amid uncertainty over the impact of the El Nino weather phenomena on inflation and gasoline price pressures.
• Eighteen of 25 analysts surveyed said the bank would keep the benchmark interest rate at 13.25%, which is its highest point in 24 years and where it has remained since May.
• Two analysts predicted a 25 basis point and five others projected a 50-point cut at the Oct. 31 meeting. A majority of analysts in last month's survey had projected the first rate cut would take place in October. Whatever the decision, it will be by majority, like the vote seen in September, analysts said.
• High inflation will limit the possibility of action by the central bank, BBVA said in a note, adding inflationary risks include "a larger-than-anticipated effect of the El Nino phenomena, a stronger shock in energy prices and an important increase in the minimum wage."
• A minority of those polled said economic deceleration coupled with the downward tendency of inflation would give the board enough space to begin its cutting cycle now. Colombia's inflation rate eased to 10.99% in September from 11.3% in August, though it remains more than three times the target rate of 3%.
• On the other hand, Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla - who represents the government on the board - told Reuters this month he is eyeing two rate cuts, in October and December.

(Source: Reuters)

• The International Energy Agency predicts that global demand for oil, coal, and natural gas will peak this decade due to the popularity of electric cars and China's cooling economy.
• This peak doesn't necessarily indicate an immediate drop in fossil fuel consumption but is likely to lead to a sustained period of high emissions, which may not be in line with limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
• Oil demand is expected to reach about 102 million barrels a day by the late 2020s, with a gradual decline to 97 million barrels a day by mid-century, driven by the transition to clean energy and the rise of electric vehicles.
• The IEA's view contrasts with the forecasts of OPEC, which predicts continued oil demand growth. However, the report suggests that all fossil fuels are on track to peak before 2030, reflecting a global shift towards cleaner energy sources.

(Source: Bloomberg)

• U.S. business activity ticked higher in October while output in the eurozone took a surprise turn for the worse, surveys showed on Tuesday, underscoring the diverging path for central bankers in the two regions and fanning fears the bloc may slip into recession.
• In the United States, the manufacturing sector pulled out of a five-month contraction on a pickup in new orders, and services activity accelerated modestly amid signs of easing inflationary pressures.
• S&P Global said its flash U.S. Composite Purchasing Managers Index tracking both the manufacturing and service sectors rose to 51.0 in October - one point above the 50 level that separates expansion and contraction - from a final September reading of 50.2.
• It was the highest level since July in the latest sign the U.S. economy is withstanding the surge in interest rates spurred by the Federal Reserve's campaign to beat back inflation. Growth has persisted all year even as most economists until recently had expected the Fed's 5.25 percentage points of rate hikes since March 2022 to trigger a recession and a rise in joblessness.
• Later this week the Commerce Department will offer up its scorecard of economic activity for the third quarter, with economists polled by Reuters estimating gross domestic product growth was the swiftest in nearly two years in the period from July through September. The S&P Global survey suggests that momentum has carried over into the start of the fourth quarter.
• "Hopes of a soft landing for the U.S. economy will be encouraged by the improved situation seen in October," Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said in a statement. "The S&P Global PMI survey has been among the most downbeat economic indicators in recent months, so the upturn in U.S. output growth signalled at the start of the fourth quarter is good news."

(Source: Reuters)

• The Jamaica Stock Exchange’s (JSE) efforts to develop the capacity of young people in financial literacy and money management have been endorsed by the Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams.
• Speaking during the launch of the Primary School Stock Market Education programme at the JSE in downtown Kingston on Friday (October 20), Mrs Williams said the initiative is designed to equip youngsters with investment knowledge that can take them into adulthood.
• Noting that she was pleased with the focus of the public education programme on the role of the stock market, the value of investing in the stock market and the importance of saving at an early age, Mrs Williams said the JSE initiative should add some fun for the youngsters, while they are learning important information about the financial market.
• The JSE and its partners are using the programme, which is entertaining and interactive, to educate staff and students of primary and prep schools on the value of investing in the stock market, and the importance of starting to save at an early age.
• Plans are in place to involve as many primary and prep schools islandwide, with the hope of accomplishing this during the current school year.
• Minister Williams noted that while the stock market has risks, persons investing in the stocks have the opportunity to see their money grow significantly.

(Source: JIS News)

• Edufocal Limited (LEARN) has announced that the Company’s Board of Directors met on October 19, 2023.
• The meeting was adjourned so that deliberations may continue on the possibility of a renounceable rights issue, to be considered on October 27, 2023, when the meeting continues.
• The Board also advised that it will consider whether or not it should recommend a stock split to the company’s shareholders at the Board meeting on October 27, 2023.
• Since the announcement last week, the stock has rallied more than 85% to close out Monday’s trading session at $2.49.

(Source: JSE)

• Approximately 2 months after the Government sought authorisation from the Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament to borrow US$100 million from the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), Finance Minister Dennis Cornwall signed the loan agreement with the Fund.
• The signing took place on the sidelines of the 2023 Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund held in Marrakech, Morocco, from October 9-15. This is Grenada’s first loan from the SFD, and as a result, the country has become the 91st nation to receive financial assistance from SFD.
• According to a news item on the Arabnews website, the loan is expected to help develop climate-smart infrastructure in St George’s, Grenville, and neighbouring areas in Grenada.
• “The project will include constructing breakwaters, developing hydro and sewage networks, modernising the waste treatment system, and using remote sensors to monitor air pollution, thus helping the Caribbean nation become more environmentally friendly and climate-smart,” said the news item which quoted from a release disseminated by the Fund. It is also anticipated to fuel direct and indirect employment opportunities.
• That being said, the Government of Grenada has yet to issue a news release about the terms and conditions of this new loan agreement and it is unclear whether the document will be tabled in Parliament.
• However, during the Lower House debate of the Loan Authorisation Resolution, Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell told the House that his Government is not keen on borrowing money. “And, if we do borrow, we will ensure that it is concessional as we can get and that is the reason why there is no loan at this point in time because we are ensuring that if we do get to the point where there is a loan, it must be on the best terms possible,” he said.

(Source: Now Grenada)

• The recent oil-driven boom in the Guyanese economy will continue in the near term. Fitch Solutions forecast real GDP growth of 29.5% in 2023, followed by a further expansion of 23.5% in 2024.
• Recent oil discoveries (ExxonMobil made its first major discovery in 2015) are now feeding into sharp increases in crude production - a trend which will continue over the coming quarters. Fitch’s forecasts are consistent with the economy of Guyana being 337.4% larger than its pre-Covid-19 level by the end of 2024.
• Given this, the oil boom will continue to manifest itself in rapid export and investment growth; while providing policymakers with room to ramp up government spending.
• Fitch’s view is that export volumes will increase by 40.5% in 2023 and a further 39.0% in the following year, resulting in net exports contributing 16.7 and 17.5 percentage points (pp) to headline growth in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
• Furthermore, the most recent GDP data (for 2022) show that the share of mining output (which almost entirely consists of oil) to GDP has risen from 15.0% in 2019 to 61.6% in 2022 on the back of a series of successful offshore explorations. In the coming quarters, this trend will continue with other large projects set to be undertaken by the ExxonMobil-led consortium.
• However, the risks to Fitch’s near-term view are tilted to the downside. A slump in global oil prices has the potential to trigger a pullback of foreign investment channelled into oil exploration and production.

(Source: Fitch Solutions)