There is some good news for households and that is that the price of butane gas has gone down in every district. The reduced prices kicked in over the weekend and show a dollar less for the price of hundred pound cylinder. In Belize City and Corozal, it is selling for one hundred and sixteen […]
The government has announced that the Super Bond has been successfully launched. As of today, holders of eight-six point one-seven percent of the country’s U.S. Dollar Bonds due in 2029 had tendered their bonds in response to Belize’s February fifteenth, 2013 offer to exchange those instruments for new Belize U.S. Dollar Bonds which will mature […]
The Government presented its budget for fiscal year 2013-2014 last Friday and debate takes place next week. Prime Minister Dean Barrow stated that the economy grew by five point three percent in 2012, and it will continue at a modest pace of three percent this financial year. According to the P.M. there will also be […]
The second reading of the General Revenue Appropriation Bill for Fiscal Year 2013/2014 took place this morning during a meeting of the House of Representatives. The presentation of the budget proposals for the upcoming financial year was made by Prime Minister Dean Barrow. He emphasized that the impending fiscal calendar will not see any new […]
In the banking and financial sectors, Prime Minister Barrow also reported that there is excess liquidity in commercial bank holdings due, in large part, to foreign direct investments, as well as tourism. The surplus, he said, serves to limit the interest rates currently applied to loans. Prime Minister Dean Barrow “Reflective of the […]
There has been a breakthrough in the superbond restructuring. The Belize Coordinating Committee has announced that all of its members have agreed to tender their old bonds for the new exchange offer. According to AJ Mediratta, Co-Chair of the Committee, “The Committee appreciates the Government of Belize’s willingness to negotiate in good faith and to […]
The Belize Central Bank has issued the latest economic update. A perusal of the document shows inconsistent figures with previous projections from other official sources. The most important forecasted growth is the Gross Domestic Product, (GDP). The Central Bank points out that in 2013; economic growth is expected to be two point seven percent, just […]
The House of Representatives passed in one sitting today, the terms of the restructured superbond; it goes before the Senate this Wednesday. The Opposition complained it had not been privy nor consulted on the new debt terms of the one billion Belize dollar superbond so there was little debate on the bond itself and by […]
Details of the Superbond restructuring between the Government of Belize and Greylock Capital is now going to be heard in the House of Representatives at a special sitting this Tuesday. The government intends to issue debt securities in the forms of new bonds and the transaction size is five hundred twenty-nine million nine hundred twenty-eight […]
Prime Minister Dean Barrow has been juggling enough balls on a number of national issues. Most recently, the dilemma has been keeping the unions at bay while trying to re-structure the five hundred and forty-four million U.S. dollar superbond. Going into the meeting with union leaders last Friday, all eyes were on the leader of […]
Late last year, the Actyle Group, a Saskatchewan-based recruitment firm, recruited hundreds of Belizean to take up jobs with a number of businesses such as McDonalds in Canada. This week, the recruiting company was back in Belize, but this time they headed over to Belmopan where they held three days of interviews with graduates and […]
A peaceful demonstration is going to be staged by teachers and public servants on Tuesday in Belmopan, following a recent breakdown in negotiations with the Barrow Administration over long-delayed salary adjustments, It has prompted a position by the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Chamber, in a release issued today, urges government, as well […]
The government said today that a deal will soon be struck in re-negotiating the five hundred and fifty million dollars U.S. bond. In 2012, it appeared that a default was imminent, and then the government offered only a partial payment in September. There was a sixty day extension period which expired in November, and then […]
The P.M. said the debt flow relief will not eliminate the country’s fiscal or financial gap. While Barrow believes this pending agreement mends the relationship with the external financial community he was also hopeful that debt servicing will be sustainable. AJ Mediratta, a senior partner of Greylock Capital Management told the media that they represent […]
The hundreds of millions in dollars of relief brought by a restructured bond may have given teachers hope that the government will be able to grant pending salary adjustments. But the Prime Minister has crushed all hopes of those salary increases occurring in the near future. Following today’s press conference with the chairman of the […]
If you’ve been trying to remember the last time Belize was featured on some foreign list or by some rating agency in a positive light, you might not find many. Well tonight we have one that is not favorable. Have you heard about the Index of Economic Freedom? It’s an annual guide published by the […]
The economies of Belize and other countries in the region have been in the forefront of discussions in recent years, as global realities have forced governments to adjust, adapt or face economic devastation. In Belize the situation is no different, and the future economic story of our nation is by no means written in stone. […]
Motorists, property and business owners are being affected by the latest plan devised by City Hall to collect outstanding revenue owed in taxes. The Mayor says that persons who owe the city will have to pay up if they want to continue using services offered by the city. City Hall’s newest way to collect income […]
Electricity rates are going up by sixteen point eight-seven percent; that is the latest in a slew of increases that the business community is facing. According to the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the increases are putting the business community on the edge and businesses under serious financial pressure. Kay Menzies, the president of […]
In economic indicators tonight, we look at the Impact of Rising Electricity Rates on the Productive and Business Sectors. The electricity sector promised significant reforms in recent years. These reforms were to bring about higher efficiency and productivity, lower and better services. But that has not been the case. The Public Utilities Commission has announced […]
The Belize City business community is experiencing an increase in Trade License fees. Rates for most affected businesses have been increased from ten to thirty percent while fees for a few have skyrocketed to two hundred percent. That is because the Trade License fee is calculated using the rental value of properties. Mayor of Belize […]
The Christmas season normally means that a few pounds will be carried on the waists of Belizeans in the New Year, but it seems that your next electricity bill may also have quite a few dollars more added to it. Electricity rates are going up by sixteen point eight-seven percent. Residential rates will carry a […]
B.E.L. will get an increase in rates, but not quite the amount it asked for overall. In its December tenth submission, B.E.L. stated that the Mean Electricity Rate (MER) increased from point four-one-eight-one cents per kilowatt hour to point five-five-seven-eight cents per kilowatt hour. That would imply an increase of close to fourteen cents overall. […]
The government announced on December twenty-first that an agreement in principle was reached in the restructuring of the superbond. Once finalized, the new terms would provide a hundred and fifty million U.S. dollar debt relief for Belize. It’s welcomed news for the economy and the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) has issued its […]
Young also spoke on the benefits of the debt relief to Belize’s business sector and he says the current goal should be to ensure that the country does not fall back into unmanageable debt. Alberto Young “Well, first of all, from a risk stand point, it places Belize at a lower risk. First of […]
