• Jamaica is projected to earn more than US$5Bn in direct foreign exchange inflows from visitor occupancy of approximately 8,000 rooms slated for construction over the next two to five years.
• Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says over 24,000 new jobs are also expected to be generated by the developments, valued approximately US$2Bn, which are either underway or slated to commence shortly.
• “It will be the largest expansion of tourism in the history of the industry [in Jamaica],” Mr. Bartlett further indicated, during a recent media briefing at Gordon House, in downtown Kingston.
• The programmed activities include the 2,000-room Princess Hotel in Hanover from which the first 1,000 rooms will be ready by 2023, the 260-room Sandals Dunn’s River development in Ocho Rios, St. Ann and the new 700-room RIU Hotel being constructed in Falmouth, Trelawny.
• There are also a number of smaller projects being completed by smaller hotels and villas that are locally owned. Mr. Bartlett highlighted that the villa subsector “is growing leaps and bounds.”
• These developments are helping to change the clientele demographic visiting Jamaica, attract more families, and offer a lot more engagement with communities. This is expected to further boost Jamaica’s tourism product and the sector’s contribution to growth and employment.

(Source: JIS News)

• Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, says there is urgent need for disaster risk financing solutions for countries across the Caribbean.
• The Senator, who was speaking on the topic: ‘Financing for Development: Catastrophe Bonds,’ highlighted the region’s vulnerability to disasters, noting that over the last decade, the Caribbean has had only one year with less than 10 named storms.
• In 2020, a historic high of 30 named storms were recorded, while 21 were documented in 2021, which was the third highest. An above normal hurricane season is forecasted for 2022.
• So far, Jamaica has successfully collaborated with international partners to implement long-term strategies to prepare for and respond to disasters, and there is need for more partnerships among Caribbean states and development institutions.
• A World Bank release, last year, said that the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the lending arm of the World Bank, announced a catastrophe bond that provides financial protection to the Jamaican government against losses from named storms.
• The commitment values US$185 million and covers three Atlantic tropical cyclone seasons. It will end in December 2023.
• Disaster risk reduction is integral in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were adopted by the United Nations in 2015. The SDGs provide a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.

(Source: JIS News)

• Senior Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh on Wednesday announced that the government has made its second withdrawal from the Natural Resource Fund in accordance with the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Act 2021.
• According to a press release from the Finance Ministry, US$200 million equivalent to G$41.6 billion has been transferred from the Natural Resource Fund to the Consolidated Fund to finance national development priorities. This brings the accumulated withdrawals to date from the NRF to US$400 million, equivalent to G$83.3 billion, as the government made its first withdrawal last year May.
• The NRF Act 2021 came into operation on 1st January 2022, and as part of the Budget 2022 process, Parliamentary approval was granted for a total of US$607.6 million to be transferred during the fiscal year 2022.
• The IMF commended the government on the amendments made to the NRF Act noting “The recent amendments to the 2019 Natural Resource Fund Act set clear ceilings on withdrawals from the fund for budgetary spending and promote transparency in the management and use of oil resources.”

(Source: Newsroom)

• Fitch Solutions forecasts that Chilean loan growth will slow to 6.8% y-o-y in 2022, as mounting headwinds cap activity across the banking sector. 
• Loan growth surprised to the upside at end-2021, coming in at 11.3% y-o-y, even as the Banco Central de Chile raised interest rates from 0.5% in June 2021 to 4.50% by December 2021.
• Loan growth has remained strong thus far in 2022, averaging 12.8% in the year through May, largely attributed to base effects as generous fiscal stimulus and loose monetary policy in early 2021 supported disposable incomes and resulted in weaker loan demand.
• Rising borrowing costs and slowing growth will dampen consumer lending, while political uncertainty will limit corporate lending as the future of Chile’s business environment remains unclear in the coming months.
• Despite slowing growth, Chile’s banking sector remains well protected from external shocks due to the historically conservative lending practices of banks, which will limit the rise of non-performing loans.

(Source: Fitch Solutions)

• Long lines are back at food banks around the U.S. as working Americans overwhelmed by inflation turn to handouts to help feed their families. With gas prices soaring along with grocery costs, many people are seeking charitable food for the first time, and more are arriving on foot.
• Inflation in the U.S. is at a 40-year high and gas prices have been surging since April 2020, with the average cost nationwide briefly hitting $5 a gallon in June. Rapidly rising rents and an end to federal COVID-19 relief have also taken a financial toll.
• The food banks, which had started to see some relief as people returned to work after pandemic shutdowns, are struggling to meet the latest need even as federal programs provide less food to distribute, grocery store donations wane and cash gifts don’t go nearly as far.
• The same scene is repeated across the nation, where food bank workers predict a rough summer keeping ahead of demand. The surge in food prices comes after state governments ended COVID-19 disaster declarations that temporarily allowed increased benefits under SNAP, the federal food stamp program covering some 40 million Americans.
• “It does not look like it’s going to get better overnight,” said Katie Fitzgerald, president, and chief operating officer for the national food bank network Feeding America. “Demand is really making the supply challenges complex.”
• Charitable food distribution has remained far above amounts given away before the coronavirus pandemic, even though demand tapered off somewhat late last year.

(Source: AP News )

• Long lines are back at food banks around the U.S. as working Americans overwhelmed by inflation turn to handouts to help feed their families. With gas prices soaring along with grocery costs, many people are seeking charitable food for the first time, and more are arriving on foot.
• Inflation in the U.S. is at a 40-year high and gas prices have been surging since April 2020, with the average cost nationwide briefly hitting $5 a gallon in June. Rapidly rising rents and an end to federal COVID-19 relief have also taken a financial toll.
• The food banks, which had started to see some relief as people returned to work after pandemic shutdowns, are struggling to meet the latest need even as federal programs provide less food to distribute, grocery store donations wane and cash gifts don’t go nearly as far.
• The same scene is repeated across the nation, where food bank workers predict a rough summer keeping ahead of demand. The surge in food prices comes after state governments ended COVID-19 disaster declarations that temporarily allowed increased benefits under SNAP, the federal food stamp program covering some 40 million Americans.
• “It does not look like it’s going to get better overnight,” said Katie Fitzgerald, president, and chief operating officer for the national food bank network Feeding America. “Demand is really making the supply challenges complex.”
• Charitable food distribution has remained far above amounts given away before the coronavirus pandemic, even though demand tapered off somewhat late last year.

(Source: AP News )

• Oil was up 2.5% on Friday after a U.S. official told Reuters that an immediate Saudi oil output boost was not expected, and as investors question whether OPEC has the room to significantly ramp up crude production.
• The comment during U.S. President Joe Biden's Middle East visit comes at a time when spare capacity at members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is running low.
• Brent crude futures were up $2.40, or 2.4%, to $101.50 a barrel by 12:57 p.m. EDT, while West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.41, or 2.5%, to $98.19.
• Both benchmarks are on track for their biggest weekly percentage drops in about a month, largely on fears earlier in the week that a nearing recession would chop away at demand. Brent moved towards its third weekly drop, while WTI headed for its second weekly decline.
• S. President Joe Biden will on (Friday) July 15, 2022, fly to Saudi Arabia, where he will attend a summit of Gulf allies and call for them to pump more oil. However, spare capacity at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is running low, with most of the producers pumping at maximum capacity, and it is unclear how much extra Saudi Arabia can bring into the market quickly.

(Source: Reuters)

• The Government’s Electric Vehicle (EV) Trial programme, now underway, will assist in converting many state-owned fleets to EVs. The Government will continue to transform the public transportation sector by using more renewable energy and electric vehicles (EVs).
• EVs demonstrate a positive change in public awareness of the climate crisis, which is exacerbated by the use of fossil fuels by motor vehicles worldwide.
• Prime Minister Holness lauded the trial programme as one which will “give policymakers a first-hand understanding of what it means to drive and use an electric vehicle.” He further pointed out that the programme will assist in the government’s data gathering, while it builds out an “ecosystem around electric vehicles.”
• This announcement comes as the Electric Mobility Policy for the public transportation sector has been completed. With a government policy to incentivize the importation of EVs now approved by Cabinet, we expect an increase in the number of consumers who will be able to afford these vehicles.
• This is expected to contribute to a reduction in Jamaica’s carbon dioxide emissions and assist with the government’s mandate to have 50% renewable energy by 2030. It is also anticipated to help residents cushion the impact of the high fuel prices being experienced as a result of geopolitical tensions.

(Source: JIS News)

• The ground is scheduled to be broken on Saturday (July 16) for the construction of the long-awaited Montego Bay Perimeter Road.
• Thousands of road users will benefit from the project, which will entail the construction of a 14.9-km bypass of the city to ease traffic congestion affecting the area, rehabilitation of Barnett Street and West Green Avenue, and construction of the Long Hill Bypass, as well as a drainage study.
• A US$274.5Mn contract was signed between the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation and China Harbour Engineering Company Limited (CHEC) last November, for the undertaking.
• The road will allow persons to go through without jamming up the town and is expected to assist persons in getting to and from the airport within a shorter time frame. Montego Bay is Jamaica’s main resort town and is home to the island’s largest and busiest international airport, with roughly 4,200 passengers arriving and departing per hour.
• The project is expected to benefit the tourism sector through the increased ease of access from the Montego Bay airport to various tourist attractions. Construction of the perimeter road is also anticipated to increase productivity, as Jamaicans living and working in the area will spend less time in traffic.

(Source: JIS News)

• Steel demand in Latin America could dip through 2022 as the industry faces regional inflationary pressures, price hikes from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and political instability.
• The regional steel sector rebounded in 2021 following coronavirus-related restrictions in 2020, topping previous production levels, according to the report from the Latin American Steel Association (Alacero).
• However, with the attack on Ukraine causing energy prices to skyrocket, as well as inflationary strains and unpredictable election cycles in Latin America, the largest steel-using industries, like construction and auto production, have shrunk so far in 2022. Further, demand is expected to fall 2% (y-o-y) in 2022 from a y-o-y growth of 26.6% in 2021 owing to a confluence of negative factors.
• The construction sector in Latin America contracted 3% in the first quarter, while the automotive sector fell 1.2% year-over-year from February to April. In Mexico alone, the construction sector contracted 0.2% year-over-year in May, while its mining sector shrank 1.7%, according to the country's statistics agency. However, demand could recover by 2023, growing some 4% from this year.
• Infrastructure projects like the Vaca Muerta pipeline could give Latin America, and the steel industry, a much-needed boost. "This puts us in a privileged position, and we have great steel companies and engineering with the capacity to carry out the titanic task of building pipelines, creating direct and indirect jobs,” Wagner said.

(Source: Reuters)