Last week, the Prime Minister informed the nation that the government was seeking to restructure its five hundred and forty-seven million US Dollar super bond because it simply cannot afford to continue to pay. News Five reported that an Ad Hoc bond committee representing bondholders has already been formed out of concern for a possible […]
The State of the Region report on sustainable human development is a research conducted by the State of the Nation Research Center in Costa Rica. It’s a system for monitoring the state of affairs in Central America. According to the director of the research center, it promotes human development in the region and serves as […]
Should the government prepare for a head on collision with holders of the Superbond? On Wednesday, Prime Minister Dean Barrow updated the nation on the national budget to be presented on June twenty-ninth in the House and on the progress of negotiations to restructure the Superbond. He told the media in his first press conference […]
ExxonMobil, the parent company of Esso Standard Oil, S.A., sold the Central American assets in Belize along with refineries in Nicaragua and El Salvador to Puma Energy Limited in 2011. The future of Puma’s operation in Belize may depend on discussions that the government is having with the government of Venezuela to procure cheaper fuel. […]
Despite the economic downturn, the Prime Minister says that the bananas and citrus industries are both doing well, but the crown jewels in the industry would be the sale of the Belize Sugar Industries Factory to American Sugar Refineries. B.S.I. was struggling to keep operational and a successful crop season translates into additional bonus payments […]
Brace up for austerity. Speaking at a press conference this morning, the Prime Minister sounded the alarm that a gaping thirty million dollar hole is expected in the new and delayed budget that will be presented to the House on June twenty-ninth. It means that government will be spending less and that cuts and tougher […]
The Factory Manager at Belize Sugar Industries Limited had announced that the 2011-2012 sugar crop closed last Thursday. It was an exceptional crop season; the production targets were exceeded and the farmers are looking forward to a handsome second payment. The quality of the sugar cane being milled also maintained high standards. But since the […]
The Belize City Council today held a press conference to present the achievements of the hundred day plan they had set out upon taking office in March of this year. While they haven’t achieved the hundred items on the list in the first ninety-seven days, they have achieved more than eighty percent of it. One […]
Majority shares in the sugar factory are about to be acquired by American Sugar Refinery at a time when sugar has rebounded. The sugar crop has had a good season; production targets were exceeded, the quality of sugar is sound and farmers can expect to fetch a better price. But did you know that Belize […]
The budget for the financial year 2012-2013 should have been presented and debated to take effect on April first. But it has not been tabled in the House of Representatives as yet. The Prime Minister says it’s coming up for full ventilation in Cabinet for presentation later this month. As to the Superbond, the bond […]
A large part of the country’s future debt is tied up due to the nationalization of two utility companies. The debts to the former owners of Belize Electricity Limited’s and Belize Telemedia Limited are in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Regarding the companies, the PM says that the government is about to enter discussions […]
In financial news tonight, there has been another downgrade in Belize’s credit rating. Moody Investors Service issued a very brief statement, saying it was downgrading the sovereign debt rating further into junk territory because government’s ability to service its debt is deteriorating. The credit rating plunged to Ca from Caa1 pushing it deeper into highly […]
On Tuesday, it was officially announced that American Sugar Refining Company will be acquiring the eighty-one percent shares held by the employees of the Belize Sugar Industries. It is a major transaction involving sixty-two million US dollars which will be used to improve production, as well as for the settlement of outstanding debts with creditors, […]
The ownership of the Belize Sugar Industries is about to go to foreign hands. American Sugar Refinery, the world’s largest sugar refining company, is poised to seal a deal to acquire majority shares, in excess of eighty percent, in the financially beset B.S.I. This morning, representatives from ASR met with BSI’s management and employees at […]
Two statutory instruments signed earlier this month will put more money in the pockets of unskilled, domestic and manual workers. Senator Godwin Hulse, the Minister of Labour signed off on the increases which were gazette on May twenty-sixth. SI number fifty-five is a Wages Regulation Amendment order which provides for unskilled workers employed in the […]
The sale of the Belize Sugar Industries is inching toward fruition. Negotiations for American Sugar Refining to purchase controlling shares of B.S.I. continued today at Tower Hill Factory where executives of the Belize Workers Union met with the management of B.S.I. to agree on the terms under which the union will relinquish its majority stake […]
But prior to this morning’s meeting, the sale was running into trouble. A press release was issued to the media castigating BSI and the Board of Directors of B.S.I. Employee Holdings Ltd. for what the Belize Workers Union describes as, “tactics of ambush, deceit and trickery.” The memo also urged all workers to abstain from […]
Do you know how to pinch pennies and save wisely? Well, if you don’t you might learn some ‘money sense’ from Unity Presbyterian Primary on Antelope Street Extension. Since last year the school has been a part of a financial literacy pilot project. The school got onboard the program called ‘Project Belize’ launched by Price […]
Fuel prices have gone down internationally which means that with the arrival on Wednesday of the latest fuel tanker in Belize, there’s a change in fuel prices at the pump effective today. Mercifully, this time it’s good news for drivers. Premium gasoline, which was all the way at twelve dollars and twenty-four cents, took the […]
Have you ever thought about honing the skills necessary to open and manage your own business that caters to tourists visiting the jewel? The Belize Tourism Board, through the Sustainable Development Program, is offering three training sessions in Belize City, Dangriga and Punta Gorda. Although limited only to twenty-five persons each, the training is intended […]
Invest Belize Magazine; it is a new publication, the first of its kind that will be published in October of this year. Beltraide partnered with Idea Lab Studios to create a high level business and investment magazine that will be used to promote Belize as an investment destination. The magazine will be distributed internationally, where […]
In January we told you about an article printed in the Washington Times on a comparative look on Belize and the Cayman Islands. The writer, Dr. Richard Rahn, who is an American Economist, draws conclusions on why Cayman is rich and Belize is poor, although both are small Caribbean countries with similar climate, mixed cultures […]
A major announcement was made today that was picked up by US networks, such as MSNBC. A US company DHS holding is claiming that franchises such as McDonald’s and high end stores such as Abercrombie & Fitch and Nike will be opening in Belize. The development is called Cenote Falls shopping Centre and is described […]
Remember the days when five or ten dollars gas in your car would take you a long way? Well, those days are a distant memory because now ten dollars doesn’t even get you a gallon of fuel. Tonight the news is that fuel prices continue to surge. There was another major hike on Wednesday. Premium […]
There are only few examples when budgets have been delayed. The last time it happened was in 2008 when the U.D.P. assumed office after ten years of P.U.P. rule. After the recent March seventh elections, the PM announced that the 2012 budget would be late even though budget preparations normally begin in October to be […]
