• Owing to a 20.0% increase in revenues, for the 6-months ending June 2021, tTech Limited reported a 51.0% year over year rise in net profit to $8.62Mn (EPS: $0.15).
• Revenues improved as tTech continued to benefit from the momentum realized in Q1 with the addition of several Cybersecurity related projects to its roster, and the continuation of the Data Protection Service campaign which has strengthened its pipeline. Also contributing positively was the company’s highly successful business technology event, TechCon, that was held virtually this year on May 18‐19.
• The rise in revenues was also sufficient to outweigh the 19.9% and 23.5% expansion in admin expenses and direct costs, respectively.
• tTech has entered the second phase of the Junior Market incentive scheme where 50% of the normal tax rate equivalent to 12.5%, applies to its profits during the second five years of listing on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange. Therefore, tax expenses will begin to adversely impact net income. However, the company is eligible for the Employment Tax Credit which will further reduce the rates payable to 8.75% for the next 5 years and 17.5% thereafter, which will ease the full effects of taxation on its bottom-line.
• tTech’s stock price has appreciated by 2.3% since the start of the year and closed Wednesday’s trading session at a price of $4.40 per share. At this price, the stock trades at a P/E ratio of 18.3x earnings which is below the Junior Market average of 21.0x.

Source: (tTech Financials)    

• Fitch Solutions has made notable upward revisions to many of its real GDP forecasts in Latin America in recent months. Overall, the agency expects the region to grow 5.2%, up from 4.4% previously (-6.7% in 2020), and 3.3% in 2022.
• Growth will continue to be driven by external demand for commodities and economies’ growing resilience to the impact of public health lockdowns. However, a return to pre-pandemic economic activity remains dependent on vaccinations.
• Despite Fitch’s upward revisions, risks remain solidly to the downside due to the spread of variants of COVID-19 and volatile political dynamics.

(Source: Fitch Solutions)

• Fitch Solutions revised down its Panamanian real GDP growth forecast to 11.2% in 2021, from 12.2% previously, to reflect ongoing public health restrictions that will hamper domestic demand. The agency forecasts 5.8% growth in 2022, meaning that real GDP will not recover from the COVID-19 pandemic until 2023. 
• While a steady rebound of industrial activity and strong export growth will make Panama a regional growth outperformer, this largely reflects base effects from a 17.9% contraction in 2020. 
• Fitch highlights downside risks to its short- and long-term growth forecasts due to the potential for future global economic disruptions from the Delta variant and any fiscal adjustments carried out by the Panamanian government in the coming years to weaken public investment. 

(Source: Fitch Solutions)

• Low-income countries have been hard hit by the pandemic. Their large financing needs are only likely to grow as they deal with the crisis and its economic aftermath. The IMF has approved a far-reaching package of support that would expand their access to financial assistance at zero-interest rates, while providing stronger safeguards against taking on debt they cannot handle.
• IMF has provided financial assistance to 50 low-income countries totaling $13 billion in 2020 compared to an average of $2 billion a year pre-pandemic. It also provided $739 million in grant-based debt service relief to 29 of its poorest and most vulnerable members.
• Three-quarters of the new lending came from the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT)–the IMF’s vehicle for zero-interest loans to low-income countries. The lion’s share was in the form of emergency disbursements with limited conditionality.
• Looking ahead, low-income countries will continue to require exceptional levels of external financial support as they recover from the pandemic, and boost investment to build more resilient and inclusive economies.

(Source: IMF and NCBCM Research)

• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday issued a new 60-day moratorium on residential evictions in areas with high levels of COVID-19 infections citing the raging Delta variant after having rejected an earlier push by the White House.
• The order applies to about 80% of U.S. counties that have substantial or high COVID-19 community transmission rates and covers about 90% of the U.S. population. The CDC said it will expand the protections to additional counties if they see a rise in COVID-19 cases.
• "The emergence of the Delta variant has led to a rapid acceleration of community transmission in the United States, putting more Americans at increased risk, especially if they are unvaccinated," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement. "This moratorium is the right thing to do to keep people in their homes and out of congregate settings where COVID-19 spreads."

(Source: Reuters)

• The Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI) ll is being implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund through a loan agreement from the World Bank valued at US$40.0Mn. The objectives of the project include enhanced access to markets and climate-resilient approaches for targeted beneficiaries. 
• Managing Director of JSIF, Omar Sweeney, said the undertakings are critical in supporting community tourism development in the country, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the sector. 
• Project Manager of REDI II, Kemeisha Batchan, has noted that the demand study will help to better position Jamaica internationally, regionally and locally based on the trends in demand. It will also assist in developing the types of products and experiences needed to be able to meet the various market tastes. 
• Further, Dr. Henry, JSIF Chairman noted that there are myriad linkages and synergies that can be derived from a strengthened community tourism product, which leverages outputs and relationships with key industries.

Source: (JIS News)

• Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has said that the investment climate remains positive despite the tourism sector being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. He noted that investor confidence in Jamaica is reflective of the level of multibillion-dollar investment projects that are now under way or programmed for implementation over the next two years. 
• Bartlett highlighted several projects that were completed in 2020 or are nearing completion. He further indicated that there are several projects slated for implementation between 2021-2023 which include the construction of over 7500 rooms across the island. 
• These investment projects have helped to place the sector on a path to recovery while creating more job opportunities for Jamaicans and further bolstering the growth of Jamaica’s tourism and economy. 
• The strategic public-private investment partnerships will be crucial to the tourism industry’s economic recovery from the effects of COVID-19. Continued investor confidence, even in a pandemic environment, is evidence that Jamaica is still a coveted destination and a powerful global brand.

 (Source: JIS News)

• The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) top executive yesterday hailed The Bahamas for leading the revolution” by becoming the first nation to launch a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). 
• Mr Rolle (Bahamian Central Bank Governor) described the Sand Dollar as “the glue that will connect the system together” in terms of modernizing The Bahamas’ payments system infrastructure, with its digitization having “started from ground zero” more than a decade ago. 
• Explaining the rationale for launching the digital Bahamian dollar, he added that it holds out the potential for reduced costs and greater efficiency in payments transactions. 
• This digitization also promises greater financial inclusion and access to financial services, especially in remote Family Island communities without a physical commercial bank branch, while also bringing the so-called ‘unbanked’ and ‘under-banked’ into the formal system.

(Source: The Tribune)

• Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopee-Scoon met with Shante Moore, charge d'affaires of the US Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago, late last month to discuss trade relations between both countries and opportunities for non-energy investment in Trinidad and Tobago. 
• She highlighted Trinidad and Tobago as an ideal location for investment in the areas of manufacturing, agro-processing and maritime activities given its geographic location, skilled labour force, low electricity rates, market access through trade agreements and existing industrial parks. 
• Moore shared information on the upcoming 2021 Trade Americas, Caribbean Region Trade Mission and Business Conference to be held on October 24-29, 2021 in Miami. The mission aims to provide opportunities for US companies to find reputable business partners in the Caribbean Region. It will include region-specific sessions, market entry strategies, export compliance, legal, logistics, disaster resilience and recovery and trade financing resources. 
• Following the Mission, interested companies will travel to markets of interest to pursue business deals. Moore noted that there were currently six companies interested in travelling to Trinidad and Tobago to further explore collaborations in the Information Communications Technology (ICT), food and beverage and energy sectors.

(Source: Trinidad Express Newspapers)

• Crude oil prices slipped lower Tuesday, falling below $70 a barrel on fears that rising Covid cases in China would stunt growth in the second-largest oil consumer in the world. U.S. crude futures traded 2.3% lower at $69.61 a barrel, falling beneath $70 for the first time in two weeks, while the Brent contract fell 1.9% to $71.50. 
• China had largely managed to control the COVID-19 virus since the initial outbreak, helping to underpin a strong economic recovery from the pandemic, greatly contributing to the broader rebound in oil.
• However, it is now implementing a wave of travel restrictions and quarantine orders at a level not seen since the initial outbreak. Wuhan, where the virus was first reported in 2019, reported three new locally transmitted cases on Monday after more than a year, prompting the authorities to test the city’s 12 million residents amid fears the delta variant of the virus will quickly take hold. 
• China's factory activity growth had already slipped sharply in July, with the Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index falling on Monday to the lowest level since April 2020. This may be an indication of a slowdown that could impact the country’s oil demand.

(Source: Investing.com and NCBCM Research)