Caribbean governments should ramp up social assistance while supporting financial sector institutions as they plan for the post-coronavirus economy, according to a new report from The World Bank which encourages policy-makers to adopt a forward-looking approach amid an expected 4.6 per cent drop in regional GDP this year.

The report encourages policy-makers to adopt a forward-looking approach amid an expected 4.6 per cent drop in regional gross domestic product (GDP) this year.

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Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis gave a national address April 13, 2020 at the Office of the Prime Minister.

Click here for an infographic on the current state of the Covid-19 outbreak in The Bahamas released by The Bahamas Ministry of Health (Currently updated April 13).

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The Ministry of Finance has issued a statement in response to Moody’s rating agency’s decision to place The Bahamas’ Baa3 ratings on review for downgrade.

In a statement, the Ministry said that it acknowledges the decision by Moody’s to place The Bahamas’ ratings on review for downgrade given the extreme strain placed on the recovering Bahamian economy by the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.

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The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Ltd (NYSE: NTB | BSX: NTB.BH) will release first quarter 2020 financial results following the close of the New York Stock Exchange April 30, 2020.

Butterfield executives will also host a conference call for investors to discuss the results May 1, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Callers may access the conference call via the investor relations page of Butterfield’s website, or by dialing +1 (844) 855 9501 (toll-free) or +1 (412) 858 4603 (international).

A replay of the call will be archived on the Butterfield website following the live call.

The pilot phase of Project Sand Dollar, the Central Bank of The Bahamas’ digital currency, has already attracted over 1,300 active users and 2,000 pending users as it is rolled out in Exuma and Abaco before being launched across the country.

Speaking during a recent webinar hosted by Compete Caribbean, Bobby Chen, assistant manager in banking (ePayments) for the Central Bank of The Bahamas touted the success of the pilot and added that 30 to 40 Bahamian businesses have created digital point of sales to enable them to accept the virtual dollar.

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The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has earmarked $140 million to help borrowing member countries, including The Bahamas, weather the economic impact of Covid-19.

The funds will be used to help mitigate the economic and social repercussions of coronavirus as the CDB estimates that global growth will fall by 1-2 per cent this year.

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The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) has partnered with global market research firm Euromonitor International to give member countries, including The Bahamas, access to timely data and insights that can help shape their tourism strategies as the industry recovers from the impact of Covid-19.

The data, provided by Euromonitor International through its Passport database, helps countries track trends, identify and target new markets, and strengthen their presence in existing source markets. It includes traveller profiles, socio-economic data and expenditure numbers.

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April 2020 (Caribbean Journal) – Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line says it is planning to resume sailings on May 8, the company said this week.

Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, which operates cruises to destinations in The Bahamas including Grand Bahama and Nassau, has canceled its sailings through May 6, amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

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This is an excerpt from Caribbean Journal as it appeared on April 6, 2020. For updates or to read the current version of this post in its entirety, please click here.

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The Caribbean should prepare for an upswing in tourism once the coronavirus pandemic has abated, according to former Minister of Tourism Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace who said this week that islands should take this opportunity to “get their houses in order” so they can maximise the industry when travel resumes.

“There is enormous pent-up demand for when the all-clear is sounded,” said Vanderpool-Wallace, chairman of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s Advocacy Committee. “It is important for the private and public sectors to get together for collaboration on where we go together as a region. So when the all-clear comes we can turn it around very quickly.”

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The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has earmarked at least $500 million to help the Caribbean mitigate the economic impact of Covid-19 and will be reframing its regional strategy to focus on supporting SMEs and building capacity in the most vulnerable sectors of the region’s economy.

Speaking during a recent webinar, IDB Invest CEO James P Scriven said the bank would deploy $5 billion to help address the crisis, at least $500 million of which would be disbursed in the Caribbean. He said the IDB is focused on healthcare and education, as well as those industries that contribute most to island economies such as tourism and agriculture.

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