After offers and counter offers have been turned down by both sides, the five hundred and fifty million dollars Super Bond was almost at its own fiscal cliff. But today the prime minister called a late press conference to announce that a deal had just been agreed to with the bondholders, represented by A.J. Mediratta […]
The Prime Minister mentioned that the deal was struck primarily because the Speaker of the House, Michael Peyrefitte, intervened where the team couldn’t. But each rousing speech was ended with sobering declarations. The bond is just one issue that the country is facing. Belize is facing tough financial times and balancing the budget, finding capital […]
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry this week called on the government to reform the tax system because the current structure is not conducive to economic growth. The amount of monies that leave Belize or what is termed as capital flight has always been a major concern because it results in less money in circulation […]
The Belize City Council, led by Mayor Darrell Bradley, has joined the Belize Business Bureau in forming an Economic Development Commission which will take a critical look at the current issue of trade licenses. On Wednesday, we reported that members of the private sector are complaining that, in some instances, taxes have increased by as […]
Earlier in the newscast, we told you about the agreement in principle that the prime minister says he has reached with A.J. Mediratta. The reaction from the opposition was swift. The People’s United Party welcomed the announcement, but questioned whether A.J. Mediratta had full approval of the bondholders since details were not provided.
After five months of negotiations, both the government and the bondholders are miles apart in reaching any agreement on the restructuring of the five hundred and fifty-four million US dollar super bond. So far bondholders have twice rejected proposals and counter-proposals and the government has struck out once. As it stands, the government insists that […]
The Prime Minister is in Miami for scheduled meetings and will return to Belize on Sunday. This afternoon after his departure, a joint release by his office and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) was issued. It indicates in diplomatic language that Belize is mending fences with the IDB in the aftermath of scathing remarks on […]
A final report of a survey on how women and children are faring in achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals will be released this Friday. And you can catch the proceedings live on this station or by streaming video. The report was compiled by the government through the Statistical Institute with financial and technical […]
For two days, long lines of unemployed persons formed at the Radisson hoping to get jobs in the Canadian market. The process has been expeditious and after interviews and short listing, by the end of this afternoon, many received good news that they will be among the two hundred persons heading to Canada next January. […]
As was reported on Tuesday, superbond negotiations between bondholders and the government have hit a major snag. The bondholders have rejected government’s latest counter proposal and have hired a team of lawyers including the former US executive director of the World Bank as an advisor, which according to the Financial Times, “Is a clear warning […]
While the government’s superbond negotiations are not going well, the Belize City Council is well under way in floating the twenty million dollar municipal bond. The first tranche is valued at ten million dollars and according to the mayor that tranche is fully subscribed and the funds will be drawn upon immediately to continue upgrading […]
The latest report on the The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October 2012 has been released. The CIB is reporting that the average national inflation rate of of the end of October 2012 was down by one piod four percent. The report says that some prices went up and some when down over the same period last year. The […]
Late this evening, Belize bondholders rejected a new offer from the Belize Debt Review Team on the restructuring its five hundred and fifty million dollar superbond. In this latest hurdle in the negotiations, the Bondholders say they have also hired lawyers since a sixty day reprieve on legal action has expired. Bondholders had agreed not […]
Belize’s super bond debt stands close to five hundred and fifty million US dollars. The government’s initial proposal was rejected by bondholders but the committee representing bondholders and the government continued negotiations that concluded in a counter offer by the bondholders. The rejection of the terms proposed by the bondholders was posted on the Central […]
The government’s two counter proposals, one which includes a haircut of thirty-three percent and an interest rate of four point five percent that would increase to six point seven-five percent after five years. The second proposal had no haircut but lower interest rates over forty years along with a grace period of ten years on […]
There were hopes that a deal would be struck when the Debt Review Team and the Coordinating Committee of Belize Bondholders met following the US thanksgiving holiday. But the result is a reversal of a previous discussion. In August the Government publicized three Indicative Restructuring Scenarios that would reduce the long term payment and bond […]
Government and bondholders are at a stalemate five months after the negotiations started and are basically back at square one. But Jim Scott, the former president of the B.T.I.A., said today that the team leader has asked him to inform tourism industry stakeholders that the negotiations were moving forward. Jim Scott, Immediate Former President, […]
While bondholders and government are at a standstill, the Belize City municipal bond is trading beyond expectations. Since going public on Monday, Belize City Mayor, Darrell Bradley says there has been high demand by the business community for the bonds that will finance the ongoing infrastructure works in the City. The Belize City Council has […]
A total of eleven individuals and businesses have bought into the primary offering since it was launched on November twenty-sixth. The smallest shares are in the amount of two individual bonds, while the largest stocks are seven thousand, five hundred and twelve thousand, five hundred bonds, respectively. Darrell Bradley, Belize City Mayor “What we’ve […]
The Central Bank has released latest figures on the economy. According to the economic brief, GDP grew by seven point four percent in the first half of the year. That is the good news, the negative is that inflation increased, cruise tourism numbers decreased and there was a significant decrease in oil production. Growths in […]
Tonight in Economic Indicators, we focus on the Inter-American Development Bank. This week, Prime Minister Dean Barrow announced that the US Treasury blocked the Inter-American Development Bank from disbursing a loan request to Belize. The Bank plays a crucial role in opening up economies to foreign direct investment and in strengthening property rights to allow […]
The Government has suffered a major setback in the re-structuring of the US five hundred and forty-four million dollar super bond now that the IDB will not be guaranteeing the Policy Based Loan. But the City today went public with the prospectus for a twenty million dollar bond. The mayor of the City is inviting […]
There is a major fallout with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and this morning, Prime Minister Dean Barrow threw the IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno under the bus even though they have had a cozy relationship over the years. For background, in August, the PM said he was leaning on the IDB to obtain financing […]
According to the PM, the legislative changes that were presented to the House have not been passed and some will come to a complete halt. But we note that the June Indicative Scenarios by the Ministry of Finance refers to policy measures such as the hotel tax and VAT as having been passed in the […]
The Prime Minister’s ire remained squarely on Moreno; the warm relationship now turned to one of heated friction. The PM made it clear that he will not share a podium with the IDB president in the interim. But where do the consequences of the fall-out leave Belize? Prime Minister Dean Barrow “Moreno did suggest […]
