TTMA IN THE NEWS
Technology will be key to future manufacturing growth
The manufacturing sector continues to be resilient and even innovative despite challenges brought on by COVID-19. And, as part of its survival mode and future thrust, the sector has embraced technology and digital transformation which have enabled entities to retool and offer new product offerings with short turnaround times, president of the T&T Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA) Tricia Coosal told the Business Guardian. “Companies were able to reimagine their products to ensure sustainability with a competitive advantage. This ensured continued survival in a market completely changed by the pandemic. Read more here
Manufacturing can drive diversification says Trade Minister
The manufacturing sector is a vital pillar and a key driver of competitiveness in the economy as it is a major contributor to the country’s GDP, a net foreign exchange earner and a major employer. Based on data from the latest review of the economy the sector’s contribution to GDP increased to 21.0 per cent in the second quarter of 2020, up from 20.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2019 and employs in excess of 50,000 people. Trade Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon, in an interview with the Business Guardian said the sector has maintained its resilience and adaptability despite inherent problems over the years, emphasising that it remains a catalyst for achieving economic transformation, expansion and diversification and is a priority for the Government. Read more here
Manufacturing's foreign interest: The link between regional tourism and T&T's success
As operations return to normal in Trinidad and Tobago, the manufacturing industry has drawn its eyes to activity beyond its borders. Many within the industry are aware with the country and much of the Caribbean still under restrictions imposed as a result of the pandemic, their markets have been directly impacted and in many cases shrunk. This was highlighted as far back as June, when CEO of Tobago Tourism Agency Louis Lewis highlighted the hit the industry took as result of hotels across the region being closed and flights from foreign lands not arriving with potential customers to the various islands across the Caribbean. Read more here
Making waves internationally
It started in 1983 as a small family-run hardware located at a busy intersection in Couva. Then in 2018, some 35 years later, its managing director Jaio Ramkissoon decided to get into the business of manufacturing PVC pipes. This was no pipe dream. As New Wave Marketing Ltd is now considered one of the leading medium-sized manufacturers in this country. In fact, the company has been hailed by Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon for its contribution to T&T’s economy. New Wave Marketing also won the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association’s (TTMA) Manufacturer of the Year in the Medium category for 2018. Read more here
NEWS
Tobago business leaders fear Brazil variant could derail reopening
Tobago’s business leaders fear the presence of the Brazilian covid19 variant on the island could prevent a further reopening of the economy. On Tuesday, the THA Division of Health, Wellness and Family Development confirmed the island had its first case of the variant. It added the Brazilian variant is more contagious than the original virus. The division said it is ramping up testing to prevent the virus from spreading among the population. Read more here
POLITICS
Police, Health Ministry to crack down on falsified immunisation cards
Police and the Ministry of Health intend to administer a full dose of the law to those involved with falsifying immunisation documentation after claims of fake records being sold appear to have some truth to them. Shortly after the Ministry of Health began its accelerated mass vaccination drive earlier this month, rumours began circulating that people were selling fraudulent immunisation cards to those who were unwilling to receive the jab. Read more here
BUSINESS
Associated Brands makes global moves
Associated Brands Industries Limited (ABIL) has been able to complete an entire factory in Colombia more or less remotely, ABIL Deputy Chairman/Group CEO Nicholas Lok Jack has revealed. Speaking to the Business Guardian magazine, Lok Jack said ABIL just completed its Greenfield manufacturing factory for breakfast cereals in Bogota, Colombia. “This was a decision taken in 2019 and continued during the pandemic and we completed in November last year and have been producing breakfast cereals in Colombia for the Colombian market since March.” Read more here
Kamri Glass’ pivot starting to pay off
It goes almost without saying that the second shutdown has affected the business community more than the first. However, director of Kamri Investments Ltd and Kamri Glass, Khameel Khan is of the view that the sector should not have been shut down at all. Even so the company has used technology to improve its business model in midst of the constant lockdown threat. In an interview with the Business Guardian, Khan said he agreed with the initial decision to shut down the country because of the novelty of the coronavirus and the fact that we were not as informed as we are today. Read more here
Economists: T&T manufacturers face serious headwinds
Non-energy manufacturing has been identified by successive governments as key to the formation of a T&T economy that is less dependent on the energy sector. But 40 years after the late Prime Minister George Chambers embarked on an effort to make this country a major manufacturing centre and 50 years after Sir Arthur Lewis seminal work, manufacturing in T&T faces major headwinds. From the issue of economies of scale, to a reliable supply of foreign exchange (forex) to the ease of doing business, manufacturers have continued to persevere with some degree of success but with real challenges in moving forward. Read more here
REGIONAL
Double strike for ExxonMobil at Whiptail exploration projects
The Stabroek Block offshore Guyana continues to be a reservoir of prosperity for Guyana, with ExxonMobil, the global oil giants, striking twice at the Whiptail exploration projects. According to ExxonMobil, the Whiptail-1 well encountered 246 feet (75 meters) of net pay in high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs. And over at the Whiptail-2 well, where drilling is ongoing, the operator encountered 167 feet (51 meters) of net pay in high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs. ‘Pay’, according to Schlumberger, is a reservoir or portion of a reservoir that contains economically producible hydrocarbons. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Outspoken billionaire Sun Dawu jailed for 18 years in China
A prominent Chinese billionaire has been sentenced to 18 years in prison, the latest in a string of punishments against outspoken corporate bosses. Sun Dawu runs one of the country's largest private agricultural businesses in the northern province of Hebei. Sun, 67, has in the past spoken out about human rights and politically sensitive topics. He was found guilty of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" - a charge often used against activists. Other charges against him include illegally occupying farmland, assembling a crowd to attack state agencies and obstructing government workers from performing their duties. He was also fined 3.11 million yuan ($478,697; £343,227). Read more here
29th July 2021