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BY TERRON DEWAR Business reporter dewart@jamaicaobserver.com
Friday, October 10, 2014
SCOTIABANK has revealed an interest rate of 9.5 per cent per annum for its new $500-million small and medium enterprises (SMEs) loan fund.
The fund, which was opened last month, will enable borrowers to access up to $15 million secured, and $2 million unsecured, with a maximum of five years to repay.
When the fund was launched in August, Scotiabank Jamaica President and CEO Jacqueline Sharp told the Jamaica Observer that while the bank was still figuring out how low to set the rate, it was expected to be less than the 12 to 14 per cent typically offered on loans.
The credit facility also makes provision for borrowers to access unsecured loans at an annual interest rate of 11.5 per cent.
“This loan is a part of the bank’s commitment to address the lack of accessible funding for SMEs,” said Debra Lopez-Spence, vice-president, Small and Medium Enterprises at Scotiabank.
SMEs that specialise in manufacturing, agro-processing, tourism and the creative industries are earmarked as the beneficiaries of the facility, which was launched in celebration of Scotiabank’s 125th anniversary in Jamaica.
In order to qualify for the loans, businesses must earn no more than US$4 million in revenue annually and require capital to:
* acquire new and used equipment;
* re-engineer their production process;
* re-tool their businesses;
* install alternative energy solutions; and
* modernise their operations.
Borrowers who wish to access the fund must submit their applications to the bank no later than March 31, 2015.
The bank will close the fund once the $500-million has been committed.
Scotiabank provides financial services for 50 per cent of Jamaicans and has over $404 billion under management.
The bank employs just over 2,000 people and has 38 branches islandwide.
SHAPRE… had said the rate would be less than the 12 to 14 per cent typically offered on loans
Scotiabank Jamaica launched the SME loan fund in celebration of its 125th anniversary in Jamaica.
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JAMAICANS are expressing increased satisfaction with their lives, despite job prospects nearing record lows, according to the Confidence Index released Wednesday.
Overall, consumer and business confidence for the third quarter 2014 dipped slightly to 97.8 and 112.1 points from 100.8 and 112.8 points respectively three months earlier. Confidence, however, remains much higher than 12 months earlier for both indices.
The rise in satisfaction comes from a general view that the economic policies of the Government, directed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), are warranted.
“Of particular importance, when asked about their satisfaction with the quality of their lives, Jamaicans voiced substantial gains in the recent survey, rising to the highest levels in two years. These gains represent a significant degree of acceptance and accommodation of recent changes in economic policies, despite the accompanying rise in their reports of hardships,” said a survey conducted by Market Research Services, a Kingston-based company headed by pollster Don Anderson.
The study was developed in co-operation with the Surveys of Consumers Department at the Survey Research Centre, University of Michigan, and published through the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce Conference Board.
However, despite increased satisfaction, people still feel that it’s hard to get a job. In fact, the number of people with an optimistic view of job prospects actually dropped to the lowest levels recorded since the survey began in 2001.
“There was a near unanimous opinion among consumers that jobs were currently in short supply, a view held by just over nine-in-10 Jamaicans. Less than 1.0 per cent thought that jobs were plentiful, an all-time record low,” stated the report.
The Consumer Confidence Index, however, is well above the 10-year low of 86.7 points recorded in last year’s third quarter. The reason was that consumers recognised that the economy had begun to improve, although the gains reported by consumers are thus far quite small.
“Devaluation, stagnant salaries, scarce job opportunities, higher taxes, and rising prices continued to be the common complaints of consumers,” stated the report.
Turning to business confidence, the index grew higher during the first three quarters of 2014 than in any other year since 2007.
“Business firms clearly think the new economic policies of the Government are having a favourable impact,” it stated.
Roughly, one-third of business respondents expect the economy to improve, compared with 19 per cent a year earlier. The overall improvement during the past year was the largest recorded during the past decade.
“When asked to explain their improved views on the economy, nearly half of all firms reported that their optimism was linked to favourable assessments of the impact from the adopted government and IMF policies,” stated the report.
In fact, roughly half of all firms in the third quarter 2014 survey reported that it was now a good time to invest to increase capacity.
“These robust investment plans for new plants and equipment represent a substantial vote of confidence by business firms in the future state of the Jamaican economy. Importantly, this sense of renewed confidence in the outlook for the Jamaican economy has not been altered by the unexpected slower pace of past economic gains,” stated the report.
In May 2013, Jamaica entered into its most recent loan agreement approved by the IMF that would result in the island securing nearly US$2 billion in loans over four years from the IMF, World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank under an Extended Fund Facility.
Since the IMF agreement, the local currency lost some 20 per cent of its value against its US counterpart. It resulted in some businesses shifting to exports to fuel growth while others imported less.
“Importantly, the data confirm an ongoing adaptation of firms to increase their exports as well as to produce more products domestically to effectively reduce imports. Significant economic reform is not a sprint, but needs the skills of long-distance runners,” stated the report.
– Steven Jackson
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SANTIAGO, Chile — Latin America and the Caribbean’s foreign trade will experience its third year of stagnation in 2014, due to minimal growth in the region’s exports and a slight decline in its imports, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) reported yesterday.
According to the United Nations organisation, the value of the region’s exports will grow just 0.8 per cent on average this year after rising 23.5 per cent in 2011, 1.6 per cent in 2012, and falling 0.2 per cent in 2013. The region’s imports are seen falling 0.6 per cent in 2014, after rising 21.7 per cent in 2011, and 3.0 per cent in 2012 and 2013.
“The weak performance of the region’s foreign trade is primarily due to a limited dynamism in the external demand from some of its main markets, particularly the European Union, as well as an important decline in intra-regional trade. This is compounded by lower prices for numerous commodities that the region exports, especially minerals,” ECLAC said in its annual report titled ‘Latin America and the Caribbean in the World Economy 2014′.
The report indicates that exports from Mexico and Central America will be more dynamic in 2014, with a 4.9 per cent overall rise in value, linked to a better economic behaviour of the United States, while the Mercosur’s external sales will show a decline of 2.3 per cent.
In the document, ECLAC underscores Latin American and Caribbean countries’ minimal participation in the world’s three main global value chains (North America, Europe, and Asia). With the exception of Mexico, the region is not an important provider of non-commodities intermediate goods to these chains, nor does it carry much weight as an importer of intermediate goods originated in these world regions.
According to ECLAC, the participation in international value chains can bring multiple potential benefits for the development of inclusive trade, which is to say, trade that favours growth and productivity, reduces structural heterogeneity, improves the well-being of the majority (employment and salaries), and reduces inequality.
The report adds that to expand the opportunities associated with a new approach to trade, based on greater intra-regional and inter-regional co-ordination of value chains, it is essential that countries adopt active policies linked to increased investment in infrastructure, innovation, science and technology, as well as inclusive financing policies that leverage small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
“This will allow them to climb to rungs that have
more value-added, with improvements in the innovation of processes and products,” ECLAC said.
In the document, ECLAC also calls on countries
to particularly strengthen regional integration and co-operation, since they represent an essential path for diversifying the region’s production and exportation structure.
Although South American and Central American countries export twice the number of products to other regional partners than they do to the United States and the European Union, and eight times the volume exported to China, there is still a low level of trade within Latin America and the Caribbean, with a limited degree of productive integration.
“In 2013 the percentage of the region’s exports going to countries within the same area was 19 per cent, whereas the European Union exported 59 per cent of its total sales to members of the same group, and Asia-Pacific countries, 50 per cent,” the report said.
“The regional market is key to developing value chains in Latin America and the Caribbean. Deepening this market is an indispensable strategy for advancing towards a global insertion that is more conducive to structural change,” Alicia Barcena, ECLAC’s executive secretary, emphasised upon presenting the document.
For that reason, ECLAC indicates that countries’ industrial policies must be reformulated and shifted from an exclusively national vision to a regional or sub-regional one in which protectionism and competition to attract foreign investment through “incentive wars” are avoided, while at the same time these nations make progress towards a regional market with shared rules.
“Improving the quality of regional countries’ global insertion is fundamental for advancing towards sustainable and inclusive growth. This requires co-ordinating industrial and trade policies,” Barcena said.
The report also analyses the intra-regional and extra-regional relations of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), putting a central focus on the need to strengthen regional integration in the production arena. In fact, said ECLAC, the proportion of intra-regional trade for countries in Caricom does not exceed 15 per cent.
The document concludes that officials must urgently address the obstacles hindering the transformation of Caribbean countries’ production and exportation structures.
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BY MARK CUMMINGS AND HORACE HINES Observer West reporters
Friday, October 10, 2014
MONTEGO BAY, St James — Retailers and shoppers in the parishes of St James and Westmoreland hailed last Thursday’s staging of the Jamaica Observer Takes Style Out (TSO), saying they have benefited greatly from the five-hour shopping discounts.
“It was excellent. Sales were very good. We really appreciated it,” said Ann-Marie Barnes, a supervisor at MK Mart on St James Street in Montego Bay.
Barnes was among scores of persons who gave the thumbs up to TSO in Montego Bay.
The initiative saw many shoppers benefiting from massive discounts on a wide variety of merchandise, while retailers enjoyed increased business, at a time when sales are usually sluggish.
From early Thursday, shoppers flocked the MK Mart, which sells a wide variety of merchandise, including clothing and appliances.
Georgett Scott of Falmouth, who shopped at MK Mart and Fashion Parade on St James Street in the resort city, said she was blown away by the huge discounts offered.
“The discounts were excellent and I got quality goods for very, very, reasonable prices,” said Scott, who admitted that it was her first time shopping during the Jamaica Observer’s Take Styles Out initiative.
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RESIDENTS of Liguanea and its environs, in St Andrew, now have improved Internet access at the Liguanea Post Office, where the service and other related activities have been upgraded at a cost of over $200,000 by the LIME Foundation.
The upgrading entailed the provision of additional computers and software, and network accessories; a printer; and furniture; as well as general refurbishment of the Internet café.
Users of the facility are now better able to surf the Internet, and send and receive e-mails; as well as copy, scan, photocopy, and print documents. A key feature of the provisions will be significantly lower user rates for senior citizens.
The undertaking resulted from a renewal of the public/private partnership between telecommunications provider LIME and the Postal Corporation of Jamaica.
Speaking at the facility’s official opening on World Postal Day last Thursday, Science, Technology, Energy, and Mining Minister Phillip Paulwell described the venture as a “significant investment”.
“It is good when you can come into a post office and…with the click of a mouse, instead of sending a registered mail, you send an e-mail to (your) friends and family wherever they are, and wait for an instant response. We believe that access to data services and the Internet are of paramount importance,” he stated.
For his part, Postal Corporation of Jamaica Board Chairman Lance Hylton said that the café’s reopening is one of the strategies being undertaken to expand the agency’s services.
“Now more Jamaicans will have access to shop online and have their items delivered by the post. For small business persons and the self-employed, they can easily use these services to support their own economic activities,” he said.
Chief Executive Officer of LIME Garfield Sinclair noted that the Liguanea Post Office project forms part of the company’s mission to deliver 100 per cent Internet connectivity to Jamaicans, within the shortest time possible.
He said that approximately $11 billion is currently being spent under the firm’s Mobile Network Upgrade and Expansion Programme, and Broadband Expansion Project, to achieve this target.
“Small but effective projects, like the Ligunea Post Office ‘Link’, are part of that bold mission. The Link will help to close the smaller gaps that will complete the overall connectivity picture. Our vision is to establish increased touch-points for children and adults who are still not able to access the Internet with relative ease,” he pointed out.
Sinclair said that the Liguanea Post Office café is the third Link facility that the LIME Foundation had opened over the past 12 months, adding that two others are scheduled to be opened soon.
State Minister for Science, Technology, Energy, and Mining and Member of Parliament for South East Andrew, where the facility is located, Julian Robinson, noted that with significantly lower rates and benefits to seniors, the post office will become an attractive option for them and other persons to use.
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BY STEVEN JACKSON Business reporter jacksons@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, October 12, 2014
DISHONEST importers continue to mis-classify a raft of items including “synthetic hair” in order to benefit from cheaper duty, stated Joseph M Matalon on Thursday night.
As such, he wants Government to review tariffs that hike duty on primary products but slash tax on finished goods made from the same material, arguing that they impact the country especially as it relates to Caribbean Community (Caricom) imports.
“Articles of synthetic hair attract duty of 20 per cent, but articles of human hair attract duty of 5.0 per cent,” he said. “…and I must tell you, vast amounts [of human hair] were imported into the island,” said Matalon, who heads the Private Sector Working Group on tax reform and is also chairman of ICD Group.
Matalon was addressing the Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association (JMA) 46th Annual Awards Banquet at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston.
Weave imports are set to hit $1 billion this year, based on growth over the last four years. The island imported US$7 million ($770 million) worth of the product in 2012, up from US$3.3 million in 2008, according to the International Trade Centre, an affiliate of the World Trade Organisation and United Nations.
“The complexity of our tariff structure and the number and wide disbursement of duty rates imposed, even within a single tariff, provide myriad opportunities for unscrupulous importers to mis-classify imports in an effort to evade legitimate customs charges,” explained Matalon, who gave another example of red kidney beans which attract duty of 40 per cent while red beans (processed) attract no import charge.
His reference was to trade mechanisms under the present tariff structure that, by and large, “impose protective tariffs on primary products” while allowing “low or zero tariff on finished goods of those same primary products”.
“In both cases I have cited, the rigidity of the current CET prevents us from undertaking reforms, from addressing these issues to the benefit of the economy and all its participants,” he said. “I have no doubt, if polled, that all the national customs departments in the region — with the possible exception of Trinidad [the largest Caricom trader] — would share this view.
“Surely, as the largest consumer market in Caricom, Jamaica can — and has a duty — and must demand that these issues be addressed through a reform process at the level of Caricom itself,” he said, eliciting applause from the roughly 500 guests.
Imports into Jamaica are greatest from the USA, followed by Venezuela and Trinidad & Tobago (T&T).
“In my own view, if we are to remain in the unit — not on the basis of sentimental historical inaction, but on the basis of true mutual benefit — then maintaining the status quo is not a serious option,” he concluded.
Last year, the JMA claimed that manufacturers from T&T were misrepresenting items as originating from within Caricom — which would entitle the goods to duty-free status. However, a rate of duty or common external tariff is applied on products originating from outside the grouping.
In fact, last year’s JMA guest speaker, former Industry Minister Claude Clarke, called for Government to suspend the CET for the duration of the Jamaica‘s International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
The Economic and Social Survey Jamaica 2012 indicates that Jamaica‘s annual trade deficit with Caricom narrowed to US$775.3 million relative to US$916.0 million in 2011. The improvement was attributed to a 22.4 per cent rise in exports to US$83.2 million and a 12.7 per cent reduction in imports to US$858.6 million.
On Thursday, Red Stripe was named Manufacturer of the Year to top off a night on which the brewery claimed five awards in total — more than any other company this year.
The other awards that went to Red Stripe included Champion Exporter in the category of large exporter, Digicel Business ICT, NCBJ Best Environmental Management, and Robert Lightbourne Skills & Productivity.
JMA President Brian Pengelley, in his address, said that local manufacturers were finding new markets, including Brazil, India, Africa and China and the Caribbean.
“There is a niche market for processed foods, beverages, indigenous high quality fashion. In South Africa there is demand for tea, coffee, beers and rice. In Cuba, our closest neighbour, there is demand for processed foods and beverages. Also opportunity is ripe for export to the French Caribbean including Guadeloupe,” Pengelley said.
Some of the larger awards included the Ray Hadeed Award for best small and medium enterprise, which went to Caribbean Flavours & Fragrances; the Eddie Hall Award for New Manufacturer of the Year went to Spring Vale Enterprise; the C Henderson Davis Award for Breakthrough Product of the Year went to Fersan Ltd. Champion Exporter medium size went to PA Benjamin, while Champion Exporter small size went to Honey Bun.
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BY TERRON DEWAR Business reporter dewart@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, October 12, 2014
It’s the ultimate Christmas gift, and it — a brand new two-bedroom house — can be yours with the purchase of a “Q” of Wray and Nephew White Overproof Rum.
The “Q” is actually a 200ml-sized bottle of the world famous liquor, consumed mostly by patrons of the thousands of bars across Jamaica, simply because of its affordability and premium quality.
In what the company said is a show of appreciation for growing consumer loyalty to the brand, Wray and Nephew has launched a Christmas promotion aptly titled ‘The Q is the Key’, offering as its major prizes two West Indies Home Contractors (WIHCON) houses valued at over $14 million, as well as over 2,000 weekly prizes worth more than $16 million.
The promotion, which begins tomorrow, is being hailed as the largest in the brand’s history.
“Owning a home is a life-changing experience, and unfortunately is out of reach of too many Jamaicans,” said Cecil Smith, group brand manager for rums at J Wray & Nephew Limited, at the launch last Tuesday at the Digicel field on Lady Musgrave Road in Kingston.
“We found it imperative to give back to our consumers in the best way we could, by giving them a piece of our country that they can call their own,” he said.
Basically, customers who buy a 200ml-sized Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum are required to peel the label at the back, locate the seven-digit code and text it to 444-WRAY.
Instantly, they will know if they have won either another “Q” of rum, $200 in Digicel phone credit, or $10,000 in cash.
All entrants will be placed in the pool to win the jackpot prize of a brand new house.
Wray and Nephew will also cover the cost of insurance and any complex maintenance fees for one year.
The two-bedroom houses are located in the Meadows of Irwin in Montego Bay and Jacaranda St Catherine, said Aisha Campbell, WIHCON general manager.
Entrants will only be required to pay $6 for each text message, as Wray and Nephew will settle the balance with Digicel.
The promotion is scheduled to end on Wednesday, December 31, with the jackpot draw set for Friday, January 9, 2015.
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BY KEITH COLLISTER
Friday, October 10, 2014
IN its October Emerging Markets Outlook and Strategy dated last Friday, on the eve of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) annual global summit in Washington, leading US investment bank JP Morgan stated that Jamaica‘s “Prospects shine brighter”.
The bank’s reasons include the lifting of Jamaica‘s outlook to positive from stable by rating agency Standard and Poor’s, better tourism numbers from Europe and Canada, and healthy gains
in remittances.
The rating improvement, JP Morgan said, reflects improved external liquidity, a return to positive GDP growth, and success in meeting the fiscal targets, with “the elevated deficit being virtually eliminated”.
JP Morgan noted the trade deficit narrowed by 6.5 per cent to US$1.78 billion in January to May from US$1.91 billion a year earlier. Despite a 13.9 per cent plunge in exports to US$616 million, this was more than offset by an 8.5 per cent decline in imports to US$2.4 billion.
The investment bank said it expects the trade deficit to fall to US$4.4 billion for the full year 2014 compared to US$4.66 billion in 2013.
It also noted that stopover tourist arrivals rose 2.4 per cent to 1.3 million in January to July from 1.27 million a year earlier, primarily due to surges in visitors from Europe and Canada, much better than last year when the numbers had only “inched up”, as JP Morgan put it, by 1.1 per cent to 2.01 million.
Now, the bank has forecast stopover arrivals to climb 2.7 per cent to 2.06 million in calendar year 2014.
Remittances climbed 3.8 per cent to US $887 million in January to May from US$854 million one year earlier, compared with a 1.1 per cent rise to US$2.07 billion in 2013. The bank now expects remittances to grow four per cent in 2014 to US$2.15 billion, or roughly 15 per cent of GDP, driven by the key US source market.
Noting the surge in net international reserves in July to US$2.18 billion following the Eurobond issue, despite upcoming debt repayments such as the Eurobond due in October, JP Morgan still forecast net international reserves to improve by US$452 million to US$1.5 billion by the end of 2014, from US$1.05 billion in 2013.
In short, JP Morgan’s more positive outlook reflects the improvement in international confidence in Jamaica due to the bank’s recognition of our improved US dollar flows, including a reduction in the trade deficit, better performance in tourism, and more significant growth in remittances.
While not mentioned in its note, there has also been an apparent recovery in foreign direct investment from recent lows, particularly in tourism, and international players would also undoubtedly have taken note of the recent stability of the Jamaican dollar.
Indeed, at the latest Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC) press briefing, co -chair Richard Byles suggested that tourism performance in the traditionally weak September appeared robust, adding that, very unusually, the exchange rate had appreciated slightly in a month when it is normally seasonally weak.
Answering his own question as to why this was the case, Byles suggested that the exchange rate no longer looked like a “one-way bet”, and he believed a lot of people had recently got out of US dollars, deflating what had become an exchange rate “bubble”, as people were now confident that the Bank of Jamaica “has the ability to defend the [Jamaican] dollar”.
However, he cautioned that the improvement in local sentiment was “not so
much” about the overall
IMF programme, where confidence remained very spotty.
The improvement in remittance flows was also seen in the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) Business and Consumer confidence indices released Wednesday, where despite a three-point reduction in consumer confidence, largely on the back of distress at the reduction in expected job prospects and less favourable expected changes in income, consumers counterintuitively reported a better quality of life, according to JCC pollster Don Anderson.
Some of this appears to reflect an improvement in the size and frequency of remittances, which continues to “cushion” consumers. This view is supported by the record numbers of Jamaicans reporting that they spend all their remittances, especially on utility costs, according to the JCC report.
The rise in remittances for Jamaica projected by JP Morgan is in line with regional and global trends, as a recently released World Bank report says remittances to the region are expected to reach US$64 billion, an increase of five per cent this year, compared to one per cent last year, with a further rise to US$67 billion in 2015.
The JCC report also reported a clear divergence between confidence in the tourist areas, which appeared to be improving, and Kingston, which was declining, no doubt reflecting the growth of the tourist industry.
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Cedric Blair (left), managing director of Red Stripe, and his team are jubilant as they accept the Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association (JMA) Manufacturer of the Year trophy from Governor General Sir Patrick Allen (right) at the JMA’s 46th Annual Awards Banquet at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston Thursday Night. Further coverage on Pages 4, 6 & 7. (PHOTO: KARL MCLARTY)
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BY HORACE HINES Observer West reporter
Friday, October 10, 2014
MONTEGO BAY, St James — Yoni Epstein, chairman of the Business Processing Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ) has dispelled the notion that customer service agent positions in the BPO sector are dead-end jobs.
He stoutly defended the sector, which employs over 10,000 persons at call centres located in Montego Bay, St James and 14,000 persons nationally, noting that it provides vast career opportunities.
“The agent position is merely a stepping stone to a career in the sector. There is much scope for elevation. Many per sons who started as agents have since risen up through the ranks,” Epstein stated.
Epstein added: “Persons are trained on the job so it is easier to promote persons internally than to seek externally. It builds the moral of the workers.”
A number of persons who have been elevated to managerial positions after starting as agents gave the
Observer West an account of their upward journey in the sector.
Rhonda Rodriguez Simpson, an American-born of Jamaican parentage, who is now employed at Global Outsourcing Solutions, was among those who shared their story.
“I spent nearly two years unemployed after losing the last job from a call centre. So when Global Outsourcing Solutions called me and offered me the position I gladly took up the offer,” Simpson said.
“A few months later I became a manager and I am currently a project manager and I hear that there are more things in the pipeline for me as we speak.”
Michael Daley shared a similar success story.
“I started in the BPO Industry in 2008 as an agent and today I am Director of Operations for Itel BPO in 2014. The BPO industry has allowed me to provide sufficiently for my family and accumulate the necessary wealth to be well on my way to achieving the Jamaican dream,” Daley revealed.
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BY STEVEN JACKSON Business reporter jacksons@jamaicaobserver.com
Friday, October 10, 2014
LASCO Financial, which offers cambio and remittance services, will this month fortify its MoneyGram network with two software upgrades to block lotto scammers and improve its analytics.
It’s the latest remittance company to move against criminals following the much publicised lockdown by rival Western Union in 2012.
“It’s a remittance software done by MoneyGram which allows us to manage Lotto scamming. So it will offer customer relationship management and give us the opportunity to offer loyalty cards as well,” stated Lasco Financial Managing Director Jacinth Hall-Tracey in her address to shareholders at the annual general meeting held September 30 at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston.
Lasco Financial, a primary agent for MoneyGram International in Jamaica, provides a network of 90 sub-agents in Jamaica. It also provides MoneyGram services in five Unicomer Courts Furniture Store branches in Barbados.
“So we are adding two software [programs] in October and I do not know how our staff will manage,” she joked. “[The software] will give timely financials, better analytics, better administration for loans, remittance management and security.”
Remittance inflows into Jamaica totalled US$2 billion (J$220 billion) in 2013 with Lasco Financial’s total revenues at a fraction of that, or J$628 million at its March 2014 year end.
In August 2012, Western Union International ordered its operators in St James to close for two weeks in order to implement anti-lotto
scam security measures. GraceKennedy Money Services holds the Western Union franchise for Jamaica.
In March 2013, Parliament passed the Fraudulent Transactions Act, dubbed the anti-lottery scam bill, aimed at specifically criminalising activities, some of which found loopholes in the law. It was followed by the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) passed in October that year.
“The amendments to the POCA last year, if you recall, as individuals you are not allowed to trade with over $1 million in cash with one transaction in 24 hours,” Hall-Tracey reminded the shareholders.
“Unfortunately, when this bill was being passed apparently no one remembered that remittance agents trade in cash and in high volumes of cash. Some banks use their discretion and allow them to get cash to run their business, but for several of them the banks refuse to pay more than $1 million cash and that really affects our business because we really need the funds in cash,”
she said.
The bill exempts banks and licensed financial institutions. However, many of Lasco’s sub-agents, which include supermarkets, would not fall under the supervision of the Bank of Jamaica or Financial Services Commission as financial institutions.
US officials have estimated that at one point lotto scamming fleeced US citizens of US$300 million annually. The US Embassy in Kingston has posted on its website a page highlighting scams from Jamaica.
“The most prevalent in Jamaica is the lottery scam, where scammers lead victims to believe they have won a drawing or lottery, but the cash or prizes will not be released without upfront payment of fees or taxes. Scammers frequently target the elderly or those with disposable income,” stated the Embassy on its website. “If it is too good to be true, it is not true.”
Additional scams originating in Jamaica include US citizens defrauded by Internet and social contacts they thought were their friends or loved ones, stated the embassy.
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The Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association staged its 46th Annual Awards Banquet at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston Thursday Night where it recognised outstanding achievements in the sector. Here are a few highlights. More in this week’s Business Observer on Wednesday.
(PHOTOS: KARL MCLARTY)
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WASHINGTON, DC, USA (AP) — World financial leaders yesterday promised “bold and ambitious” action to boost a global recovery that has shown recent disturbing signs of weakness.
That pledge from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) policy-setting committee comes after a week of stomach-churning swings in the financial markets triggered by growing fears that parts of Europe could be in danger of slipping into another recession.
The 188-nation IMF called increasing economic growth an “utmost priority” and pledged to make the necessary structural changes that would stimulate greater growth.
But finance leaders have made similar promises in the past, only to fall short when trying to follow through.
The commitments came in a closing statement from the IMF’s steering committee at the fall meeting of the IMF and World Bank.
Officials also endorsed the IMF’s efforts to support three West African countries battling the Ebola crisis.
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said at a news conference that the IMF has made US$130 million available to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, and that the IMF and other international agencies stood ready to do more.
“If more is needed, it will be there,” Lagarde said.
Speaking earlier yesterday to the IMF policy-setting committee, British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne took note of the recent downgrades to global growth forecasts and said there was a need “for further progress by policymakers to deliver a strong and sustainable global recovery”.
Brazil’s Finance Minister Guido Mantega, told the IMF group that the global recovery “continues to create a sense of disillusionment”, and the IMF had demonstrated “an entrenched propensity to overstate prospects” for growth in the world’s largest economies.
The IMF and World Bank meetings were preceded by talks among finance ministers and central bank presidents of the Group of 20 nations, which comprise 85 per cent of the global economy. Those discussions focused on the recent growth slowdown and troubling signs that some countries in Europe could be close to another recession.
In a comment clearly aimed at Germany, US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew told finance ministers on Friday that European countries with “external surpluses and fiscal flexibility” needed to do more to address weakness in demand that was holding back growth.
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, ran a large trade surplus last year.
Lew also called on China, now the world’s second largest economy, and Japan, number three, to make the necessary policy adjustments to increase their own growth.
A string of weak reports on economic activity in Germany, the largest economy in Europe, jolted financial markets this past week.
US stocks ended their worst week since May 2012, and the market turbulence served as a backdrop for the finance meetings.
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With Claudienne Edwards
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Dear Claudienne,
I was born in Jamaica but I am currently a UK citizen. I travel to Jamaica every year to visit my loving mother and other family members. I am asking you to seek clarification of an unfortunate incident that took place when I visited Jamaica on Monday, September 8.
My flight, TCX108 from Manchester City, UK, landed at the Sangster International Airport. After retrieving my luggage I was asked by a customs officer the following two questions :
(a) What flight did you come on? (b) Are you a student?
An immigration officer then removed me from the ‘nothing to declare’ queue and sent me to the ‘goods to declare’ queue.
When I joined the ‘goods to declare’ queue I noticed that most of the passengers on the flight with me had also been sent to this line. I found this really strange.
I had three laptops. One of them was mine, and the other two, which were very old (over five years), that I was taking for my siblings.
After the customs officer searched my belongings, my personal laptop was taken from me and I was told that I would have to pay J$14,700 to retrieve it.
I was also told that my allowance was US$500. I think that the allowance is unfair, considering that I live in the UK.
I do not believe that the US$500 allowance should apply to UK citizens as the US and UK are two totally different countries and the value of the two currencies is different.
I find the duty on my laptop distressing as I am a student and cannot afford to pay such a heavy fee.
MC
Dear MC
Tell Claudienne asked the Jamaica Customs Department to clarify the matter.
The director of operations at the Sangster International Airport replied to a query from the director, executive services Jamaica Customs Department as follows.
“After investigation of this matter, I find the information given by MC to be accurate. He had gifts of one (1) new and two (2) used laptops, clothing and shoes. The examining officer’s assessment of the gifts was that they were in excess of his US$500 allowance as stipulated.
“In keeping with the excellent customer service standard practised in this unit, the officer’s decision was to give him his full allowance on the clothing, shoes and the two used laptops and charge the taxable portion on the brand new laptop he was carrying. Consequently, had we given him the laptop and charged MC on the items of clothes and shoes, his duty payable amount would have been far greater, because laptops have no import duty payable.
“My conclusion is that the correct procedure was followed and the duty assessment was fair.”
After we advised you of the Customs response to our query you told us that your personal laptop was not brand new as Customs had stated. However, the customs officer insisted that you had informed them that your personal laptop was brand new.
To prove that your personal laptop was not brand new you would have to produce a receipt for the item, the spokesperson said.
In future, please travel with the receipts for computers or other electrical items you might wish to bring into the island.
Good luck.
Birth certificate error
Dear Claudienne,
On June 3, 2014, I went to the Portmore branch of the Registrar General’s Department to correct the entry number on my birth certificate. I have checked twice since then and the Spanish Town head office has not yet sent it over.
Could you please check with the RGD for me.
GH
Dear GH
We contacted the RGD and note that the errors on your birth certificate have been corrected and sent to the Portmore RGD. We see that you have collected the document.
Good luck.
Have a problem with a store, utility, a company? Telephone 936-9436 or write to: Tell Claudienne c/o Sunday Finance, Jamaica Observer, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5; or e-mail: edwardsc@jamaicaobserver.com. Please include a contact phone number.
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NEW YORK, USA (AP) — No wonder Coke and Pepsi are spending millions of dollars to fight proposed taxes on sugary drinks in California.
PepsiCo reported a higher quarterly profit yesterday as global sales rose, but one weak spot was Mexico. The company said snacks sales volume declined by three per cent, hurt by a new tax on junk foods.
Recent declines suffered by Pepsi and Coke in Mexico underscore why the beverage industry is fighting tax proposals on sugary drinks in San Francisco and nearby Berkeley.
PepsiCo — which makes Frito-Lay chips, Gatorade and Tropicana — reported similar declines in its snacks business for the first half of the year, starting when the tax went into effect.
Coca-Cola, which is scheduled to report its third quarter results on October 21, has also reported beverage volume declines in Mexico for the first half of the year, citing a similar tax on drinks. Mexico has the world’s highest per capita consumption of Coca-Cola drinks.
Hugh Johnston, chief financial officer for PepsiCo, said in a phone interview that declines in Mexico were in line with what the company expected. To mitigate the impact of the tax, he said PepsiCo plans to target different package sizes for different outlets.
The taxes in Mexico add one peso, about seven cents, to the cost of a litre of sugary drinks, and five per cent of the price to foods with 275 calories or more per 100 grams.
It’s not yet clear whether the taxes’ impact on consumption will last, or how significant it will be over time. And while PepsiCo monitors such tax initiatives around the world, Johnston said he doesn’t expect them to become more common.
Back in the US, San Francisco and Berkeley are seeking to become the first cities to pass per-ounce taxes on sugary drinks in the upcoming November election. The measures are being closely watched because many say defeats in the Bay Area, which is known for its liberal politics, would be a major blow to advocates of such taxes as a way to improve nutrition. Similar measures in other US cities have failed.
Health advocates have pushed taxes as a tool to cut consumption of calorie-laden junk food, similar to tactics that have successfully been used against cigarettes. Makers of such products say they are being unfairly singled out.
During a conference call with analysts and investors, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi addressed the measures in California and said she believed such “discriminatory taxes” are “wrong”.
“We will make our case and hope the voters are sensible enough to look at the right answer,” Nooyi said.
Since the start of this year, the American Beverage Association contributed US$7.7 million to defeat the proposal in San Francisco alone, according to a filing made this week.
That’s far more than the US$391,000 in contributions reported by supporters of the tax over the same time.
In the meantime, the beverage industry has touted its commitment to reducing the calories people consume from drinks by more aggressively marketing drinks with less sugar. The industry has also stressed the need to raise awareness about balancing the calories people consume with how much physical activity they get.
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Dennis Chung
Sunday, October 12, 2014
THE world has, in recent weeks, been very concerned with the Ebola virus and more importantly, containing it. Here in Jamaica, we have been dealing with the effects of the chikungunya virus, more commonly referred to as ChikV, while also keeping our eye on what is happening with Ebola, as this can be very devastating for Jamaica and the global economy.
I have seen many comments on social media, and I have posted a few as well, debating what measures should be put in place, and where responsibility lies. Some of these discussions have been constructive, some have been irrational, and some have been political. Many can only qualify as the rantings of ignorant people who don’t have the ability to understand what the temperature is beyond the tip of their noses.
What is very clear to me is that proper health management in these circumstances is not something that we should seek opinions and consensus on, as the consequence of failure and delay is too horrendous. Sure, we want to consult with various stakeholders, but that consultation must take place with stakeholders who can make a difference to the fight, and not just consult for consulting’s sake.
You also want to constantly review all processes, and be critical of what is not going right, but that should be constructively done in order to improve the situation, not seek one-upmanship.
This means that the management of the health care system generally requires astute and objective leadership which must be free of both ego and sensitivity, and must be able to communicate.
We must also understand that leadership is not just government and other officials, but must be leadership within our businesses, households, and wider communities. In other words, as the prime minister said, health management is more about personal responsibility than anything that can be done at a policy level, as health is really a personal issue. Whether it be ChikV, Ebola, or lifestyle diseases, it is all about how we manage our surroundings that affects us and those around us.
With that said though, leadership is responsible for communication and education, and we can all agree that this CHIKV outbreak was not managed properly. This should be accepted as such by the authorities. But once that is done, then let’s put it down to a practice run for the real threat of Ebola, and other infectious diseases that are not here as yet.
So the press conference on Thursday with the prime minister and Sandrea Falconer is a good start to a much better approach after ChikV.
The Medical Association of Jamaica, as reported, also seems more confident in the current approach to the preparation for Ebola, and all of us need to be involved in the fight to keep it away. Which, by the way, means ensuring that we observe safety procedures when we travel, and when we return to Jamaica we are honest about where we went and any possible exposure. Again, the role of personal responsibility.
I say all of this because there is a huge risk
to improper health management, which includes inadequate communication and education. A recent report says that (i) approximately US$32.7 billion will be needed to fight Ebola in West Africa; (ii) failure to contain the epidemic could compromise the future of not only West Africa, but the entire continent.
In other words, this could be much worse than the 2008 financial crisis if it is not dealt with quickly. Any hint of an outbreak in Europe, Asia, North, or South America (largest global markets) could plummet financial markets and cause significant reduction in earning power and consumption. Also, unlike the slowdown in global markets caused by bad mortgages in 2008, this could lead to much more devastating and long-term consequences, as we would see global brands and physical markets disappearing.
This is why all the major developed countries are treating this as a major potential crisis and are pledging billions of US dollars in the fight, because if this is not controlled it could be the end of the world as we know it. In other words, a health crisis resulting from a disease like this is worse than any financial market crash or world war. In fact, it could lead to a global financial meltdown and war.
This is why personal responsibility is very critical, and why Jamaica needs to do everything to protect its borders and residents. This is not about giving some people a “bly”, as we are used to doing.
The reality is that we are a tourist destination and we are just trying to cope with an IMF agreement which seems to be bearing some fruit, but we still remain very fragile. We also have a poor health infrastructure, a significant percentage of unemployment and people living below the poverty line, relative to other parts of the region and the world.
Therefore, the best line of defence for us is to ensure that our borders are well protected, and that proper and effective monitoring of anyone suspected is in place. Anyone who believes they have symptoms or have been exposed and do not report it to the authorities should face criminal penalties.
And anyone in authority who is negligent in their duties to act or report should also face penalties. This is how seriously we should approach this situation, as the possible economic and social fallout from this is like a final event.
It is going to require all of us in Government, Opposition, private sector, public sector, and civil society to work together. We need to support each other with action and criticisms. Anyone who is going to take a leadership role has to be big enough to rise above criticism, accept it where relevant and just get the job done.
I say all this, fully aware that there are no cases here, but also understanding that the time to act is not when something happens, but before. As they say, ‘prevention is better than cure’, and that is definitely so in this case.
I am heartened by last Thursday’s press conference by the prime minister, and the comments by the MAJ. The education and communication must be very consistent and transparent as we move forward. Too much information is better than too little.
Dennis Chung is a chartered accountant and the author of the books Charting Jamaica‘s Economic and Social Development, and Achieving Life’s Equilibrium. His blog is dcjottings.blogspot.com
Email: drachung@gmail.com
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FOUR organisations have been selected as Ambassadors of Service Excellence by the Jamaica Customer Service Association (JaCSA), for their exceptional customer service.
The organisations, Sagicor Life Jamaica Limited, Jamaica International Insurance Company, National Housing Trust (NHT) and the Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James, are this year’s winners of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica
(PSOJ)/JaCSA Service Excellence Awards.
This was revealed by Deputy Chairman of JaCSA Richard Rowe, while giving an overview of the work of the organisation, at the National Customer Service Week (NCSW) church service held on Sunday.
Rowe explained that as Ambassadors, these entities will be showcased at JaCSA events and will work with the association and the Cabinet Office to promote and facilitate service excellence nationally.
Meanwhile, he urged service organisations and employers to commemorate NCSW week by raising awareness of the importance of customer service in their organisations.
“Boost morale through motivation and teamwork. Reward front-line and other representatives. Show appreciation to other departments and teams for their support and remind customers of your commitment to customer satisfaction. Spread love and care within your organisation, home, community and throughout Jamaica,” he encouraged.
The church service was the first in a series of activities organised by JaCSA to observe NCSW under the theme: ‘Exceptional Customer Experience: Gateway to National Transformation.’ JaCSA has partnered with the Office of the Cabinet and other institutions to host the week’s celebrations.
The highlight of the week will be a two-day Service Excellence Conference which ends today.
JaCSA was established in December 2001 and is a strategic partner of the International Customer Service Association.
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With Kevin Richards
Sunday, October 12, 2014
WITH increased volatility in financial markets, particularly over the last five years, people have begun to take greater stock of what their risk appetite is. For the boom years prior to the near financial market collapse in the US, people were prepared to look outside of what is traditionally consistent with their risk appetite and had ventured into new realms.
Pensioners were buying derivatives they didn’t understand and young professionals were caught up in get-rich-quick schemes resulting in huge financial losses and the loss of wealth for many. Ordinary share prices over that period plummeted to new lows, but have now recovered because of persistent Fed easing.
However, the likelihood of the Fed raising rates in the near term could send stock and bond prices back in a tailspin. One possible option for investors to consider would be preferred shares or preference shares.
Preference shares or preferreds, as they are commonly termed, are a hybrid security with characteristics of both ordinary shares and a corporate bond. They do not carry voting rights as do ordinary shares, and most preferred shareholders are never present at stockholder meetings or AGMs.
They have a higher rank than ordinary shares in the distribution of cash, whether as regular dividends or from liquidation of assets. However, such distribution is usually limited by the terms of the preference shares, such as a fixed coupon. Preferreds may have other features such as being callable, that is the issuer, at its discretion, may decide to redeem the shares prior to maturity.
In addition, preferreds may be listed on an exchange to allow the holder the ability to acquire or dispose of shares as long as there is a willing seller and a willing buyer.
There are various types of preferreds, the more popular ones being: cumulative, convertible, participating and perpetual. Cumulative prefs allow the issuer to accumulate dividend payments in the event the company’s cashflow is not able to handle a payment.
All dividends that are due would be accumulated and when cashflow improves a lump sum payment would be made. Other types include participating preferreds, which allow the holder of the shares to participate in further cash distribution above and beyond the coupon payments. This could be in the form of a set percentage of net profits or a sum above a particular predetermined hurdle rate.
The type of preferred stock that most closely mirrors common equity would be a perpetual preferred or a “perp” where there is no set maturity date. Like a common stock, it will pay cash distribution to perpetuity or until the company is wound up.
One of the more popular types of preferreds is the convertible, which, as we mentioned earlier, allows the issuer, at their discretion, to convert the preferreds to common equity or through the occurrence of a target event. In some markets, a unique type of preferreds called a retractable preferred exists, which allows the holder of the shares to put the share back to the issuer to be redeemed either for cash or for common shares.
The accounting treatment of preferreds is also a very simple one. Preferred shares are usually reflected in the company’s shareholder equity and not as debt, because although there may be fixed coupon payments, such payments are not guaranteed and sometimes are accumulated. This could allow some companies to meet target debt : equity ratios to meet specific regulatory requirements.
Some of the negatives of preferred shares include the inability to participate in the upswing in the performance of the company. Common shareholders would benefit from capital appreciation if the demand for the company’s stock rises because the company’s performance outpaces expectations.
This benefit could also extend to higher cash distribution in addition to regular dividends, while preferred holders and bond holders only receive a fixed coupon payment, no matter how well or how poorly the company performs.
Liquidity can also be another drawback for investing in preferred stock, as opposed to common shares or even a bond. Often, preferreds are held by a smaller group of individuals and the level of trading in these shares tends to be
less than trades in
common shares.
On the positive side, there could be more favourable tax treatment for preferreds, over holding a bond whereby interest is taxed at a higher rate than the rate paid on dividends. Additionally, yields on preferreds could compete favourably with the yields on corporate bonds, which also makes them a good option for any portfolio.
Expect to see more preferreds being issued as companies find more creative ways of raising funding outside of traditional common equity and debt.
Kevin Richards is vice-president, sales and marketing at Sterling Asset Management Ltd. Sterling is a licensed securities dealer and provides investment management and advisory services to the corporate, individual and institutional investor. Feedback: If you wish to have Sterling address your investment questions in upcoming articles, please e-mail us at: info@sterlingasset.net.jm or visit our website at www.sterling.com.jm
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Businesses expect the local currency to slide towards $115 to US$1 by August 2015, a slower pace than previously expected, according to a Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) report.
It signals growing stability in the financial sector which, up to mid-year, suffered from faster depreciation.
The expected depreciation would result in 3.8 per cent decline over the review period against its US counterpart. In June, respondents expected the dollar to lose 5.8 per cent of its value over 12 months.
“Relative to the survey in June 2014, respondents expected a slower pace of depreciation in the domestic currency for the three-month, six-month and 12-month period beyond the survey date,” stated the BOJ Inflation Expectation Survey prepared by the bank’s Research Services Department and which contained data from 292 respondents.
The currency lost 14.4 per cent of its value in 2013 and an additional five per cent since January. Since June 2014, the slide tapered off based on an influx of foreign currency linked to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan agreement. At the time, the BOJ and the IMF separately indicated that the currency gained competitiveness against the greenback.
In the survey, businesses stated that they expect inflation to dip slightly towards 10.4 per cent for the 2014 calendar year, down from 10.7 per cent expected in the previous survey.
“The results of the August 2014 survey reflected an improvement in businesses’ perception of inflation control by the authorities when compared to the previous survey. Specifically, the index of inflation control increased to 156.6 from 149.9 in the June 2014 survey. This improvement mainly reflected an increase in the number of respondents who were ‘satisfied’ with the authorities’ control of inflation,” stated the BOJ.
The survey captured the perceptions of chief executive officers, managing directors and financial controllers about the future movement of prices, current and future business conditions and the expected rate of increase in wages/salaries. The BOJ said that these responses assist it in charting future policy decisions.
– Steven Jackson
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CASABLANCA, Morocco (AP) — After seven months in Ebola-stricken Liberia, Vijay Kumar was getting his temperature scanned yesterday at the airport by medical crews in blue gowns and masks — one of dozens who relied on Royal Air Maroc’s continuing flights to West Africa.
“Of course we are all scared,” the cellphone worker said as he and dozens of passengers made their way through the international airport in Casablanca, Morocco. But “we really appreciate their procedures, it’s a good system”.
He was finally heading home to Chennai, India, relieved that there were still flights operating, after British Airways and Emirates suspended travel to the region. Airlines from Morocco, France and Belgium are still flying in and out of West Africa, encouraged by the World Health Organisation, because stopping would keep out needed aid workers and supplies — and wouldn’t necessarily halt the spread of the disease.
It can take up to 21 days before a person infected with Ebola starts to show symptoms that can be found in airport screening tests. During that period, an individual carrying Ebola can get a flight to anywhere in the world and fall ill later — as happened with a Liberian man who developed Ebola and died in the US this week.
Departing passengers in Africa are being screened. US officials have started screening arrivals from the affected countries as well. European governments so far have held off, even though it’s conceded infected passengers could arrive undetected. If someone gets sick in Europe, they are hoping to focus on quick response in advanced isolation wards like the one at Frankfurt, Germany’s University Clinic — not far from its international airport.
As a major hub for travel to West Africa, Casablanca airport functions as a gateway to the rest of the world. Yesterday morning’s arrivals board included flights from the Ebola-hit cities of Monrovia, Liberia and Freetown, Sierra Leone, among others. Besides Royal Air Maroc, Air France and Brussels Air also still fly to and from West Africa.
Travel bans aren’t the way to go, says a top WHO official.
“You can stop a direct flight, but you can never stop people from moving,” either by connecting through other cities or crossing land borders, said Dr Isabelle Nuttal from the World Health Organisation.
The UN health agency is not asking countries to have people screened when they arrive on a flight. Nuttal warned that on-arrival screening could lead to a false sense of security, when the key step is that doctors “need to ask people where they have been”.
She cited the case of Thomas Eric Duncan, who died Wednesday in Dallas. He passed an airport screening at Monrovia before he flew to Brussels and on to the US because he was not yet showing symptoms. When he did fall ill, he was sent home by a Dallas hospital at first.
Ilham Kazzini, senior vice-president with government-owned Royal Air Maroc, said the company is still flying to West Africa because Morocco has an official policy of solidarity with the region.
“It also is in response to the calls by international organisations fighting against Ebola, like the UN and WHO, who called on the company to maintain its flights as the best way to fight the disease,” she said. “We transport members of international organisations, food and medical aid.”
As the passengers lined up in Casablanca to be scanned by thermal cameras and checked by remote thermometers, they expressed relief that there were still flights. Passengers from West Africa who stay in the country have to give the police contact details, travel plans and are handed a free mobile phone to stay in touch with medical officials.
Passenger John Hyland, who had visited Sierra Leone on a mission for Virginia-based Project Hope, emphasised the importance of not cutting West Africa off from the rest of the world.
“These countries need foodstuffs and all the things they usually import,” he said. “If Air Maroc can fly there, why not British Air?”
The airport’s chief medical officer, Mohammed Moussif, said they had yet to discover a case of Ebola in months of screenings, but travellers staying in the country must remain in contact.
“By default, we consider all of them to be in the phase of incubation and they are followed up with by a medical team no matter where they are in Morocco, in the north or south, until the end of the incubation period,” Moussif said.
US officials say exit screening of about 36,000 people attempting to board airplanes in West Africa showed 74 had a fever and three others had some other symptom that led to them being pulled out of line. That’s roughly one in 500 people. None are believed to have had Ebola.
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BY GARFIELD MYERS Editor-at-large, South Central Bureau myersg@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, October 12, 2014
MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Not too long ago a persistent glut in pork production triggered uncompetitively low prices and general depression in the pig industry.
Today, from the perspective of pig farmers the situation is much improved. However, the challenge, they say, is to bring the industry to some level of “equilibrium”, thereby minimising, if not completely bringing to an end the damaging cycles of boom and bust.
Industry leaders are advocating the setting up of a pork council backed by appropriate legislation; and representative of all “stakeholders” which would monitor, if not regulate the industry.
“Every stakeholder within the industry would have a place at such a table (pork council) so that we can monitor the industry at large,” explained recently elected president of the Jamaica Pig Farmers Association, Hanif Brown.
Immediate past president Delroy Manya envisages a stakeholders’ council that would include representatives from farmers, pork processors, feed companies, technical expertise from the agriculture ministry and the Scientific Research Council, et al.
The aim, said Manya, must be to develop a unified approach from all industry players and stakeholders “so we can control production”.
As the situation now stands, the average farm gate price of live weight pigs ranges from $110 to $115 per pound, according to Brown. Pig carcasses at the farm gate, currently goes for an average $175 – 185 per pound, he said.
That’s a significant improvement on a year ago at the tail-end of the last glut, when the farm gate price for live weight averaged $90 per pound and for carcass, an average $150 per pound.
Industry players say the danger now in the absence of controls is the likely influx of occasional producers seeking to cash in, which will lead to “over-production”, rapid price drop and in effect another glut cycle.
At the recent annual general meeting of the Pig Farmers Association, several speakers from various branches of the livestock sector addressed the need for unified action towards stable production.
“This pig industry has been on a roller-coaster ride for over 40 years. Surplus, shortage, surplus, shortage and we cannot continue like that,” said Valdence Gifford, managing director of Sweet River Abattoir. “No investment is sustainable along that line. … I think there has to be some semblance of a production equilibrium where demand and supply play together at the same level,” he added.
The theme was underlined by Christopher Levy of major animal feed company, Hi-Pro Feeds. “All the stakeholders benefit when things are good, all stakeholders suffer when things are bad,” he said.
As part of the “alignment” process between production and the available market, Brown said that his administration will be pushing to give farmers greater “access to processors on a contract basis”.
Since the formal launch of the Pig Farmers Association 12 years ago, pork production in Jamaica has improved to the point where the country is self-sufficient in prime cuts. Nowadays only pork fringes such as bellies for bacon, tails, and trimmings for the sausage sector are imported.
At the recent AGM, chief technical director in the Ministry of Agriculture Derron Spence, who was representing new agriculture minister Derrick Kellier, placed pork production in Jamaica at 10 million kilogrammes annually. A study conducted two years ago by local firm Trevor Hamilton and Associates valued the industry at $6.4 billion.
As was a repeated theme of Roger Clarke, the late agriculture minister, Kellier, as reported by Spence, made the obvious point at the AGM in Mandeville that exports could help ease the pressure of increased production.
But while processors are quietly reporting success in accessing markets in CARICOM and beyond, a challenge is meeting the increasingly stringent standards being set for food and meat globally.
The establishment of “traceability” procedures from the “farm to fork” is integral to that process. The message was repeatedly delivered at the AGM that farmers will have to “modernise” and “retrofit” to meet the demanding requirements ahead of long-awaited traceability legislation.
“We need to have a structure in agriculture, where we have produce moving from farmer to end user so there is traceability,” stated opposition spokesman on agriculture, JC Hutchinson.
Standards apart, creativity and a willingness to market new pork-derived products was recommended by guest speaker Dr Robert Thomas as one way to soak up mass production.
The Scientific Research Council (SRC) had much to offer in that regard, said Thomas, who is a consultant attached to the United States Soybean Export Council.
“Can we commission the SRC to work at producing new products that you can sell?” he asked rhetorically.
Innovative thinking could twin processed pork with other local products such as sweet potato and cassava chips, Thomas argued.
“How about jerk pork and bammy — snack food that you snap open like cheese crunches, how about … pork granola, pork and cashew nuts, pork and almonds, pork snacks like you have cheese curls… stuff that you can market for the airlines,” he said.
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DIGICEL Foundation showcased its continued commitment to the redevelopment of Downtown Kingston with the unveiling of a new monument at the Breezy Castle Roundabout last Thursday.
The monument, entitled “Evolution” was unveiled by the Minister of Education Rev Ronald Thwaites, on behalf of Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, as part of Digicel Foundation’s 10th anniversary celebrations.
Digicel Foundation said the monument is a gift to the “extraordinary Jamaicans that they have worked with for their first 10 years.”
Created by Jamaican artists Chungknight and Raymond Watson with the murals done by Studio 174, the monument consists of 49 statuettes at its base which is representative of Jamaica‘s past and present. It has at the top two golden central figures rising above in fluid motion representing, according to the artists, dynamism and hope for the future.
The roundabout is the focal point of a larger beautification project being undertaken by Digicel Foundation since 2012 in partnership with the National Solid Waste Management Authority, Jamaica Cultural Development Commission, Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC), Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and members of Rae Town, Parade Gardens, and Allman Town communities.
The roundabout was landscaped with the assistance of Digicel staff volunteers, members of the neighbouring communities as well as Minister Thwaites and Prime Minister Simpson Miller.
“Under the generous patronage of Digicel Chairman Denis O’Brien and partnerships with local and international organisations, the Digicel Foundation has set a remarkable pace for sustainable development,” said Digicel Foundation’s new Chairman Jean Lowrie-Chin.
Digicel Jamaica which relocated its headquarters to the downtown area in 2012 has since partnered with UDC and KSAC to complete several successful projects, including the Coronation Market and Redemption Arcade renovations.
Since its inception in 2004, the Digicel Foundation has completed over 400 projects with an overall investment of J$2 billion and positively impacted the lives of over 400,000 Jamaicans in the areas of education, special needs and community development.
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BY STEVEN JACKSON Business reporter jacksons@jamaicaobserver.com
Friday, October 10, 2014
LUXURY bus company Knutsford Express has voiced approval of the Mount Rosser bypass of Highway 2000 amid posting $17.1 million in profit, or 20 per cent higher than year-earlier levels.
The company also expanded the number of departures on offer while increasing travel options to passengers along the South Coast by 50 per cent.
“The much-anticipated middle phase of the North-South Highway which bypasses the hilly and windy Mount Rosser roadway opened. This has allowed for a reduction in the travel time on the North Coast route and resulted in a more comfortable ride for our passengers,” the company said in a joint note prefacing the financial results
signed by directors Oliver Townsend and Anthony Copeland.
“With this reduction in time and with our fleet being improved by the addition of new luxury coaches on that route, our customers will have an even better travelling experience,” the directors said.
The Caribbean Business Report was unable to contact the company for further clarification on the benefit of the bypass.
Total revenues hit $103 million, or 30 per cent higher than a year earlier based on increased passengers resulting from the company’s expansion of the South Coast route. Cash and equivalents stood at $48.5 million at August compared with $12.8 million a year earlier.
Knutsford Express operates bus routes that connect Jamaica‘s south-eastern city of Kingston to northern and western parishes. It offers scheduled coach transportation, courier service, private hire, and special-event shuttles.
The company raised just under $100 million through an initial public offer (IPO) of 20 million shares or 20 per cent of the firm last December. The listing on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market allowed the company to qualify for a five-year break on income tax.
The company now has 105 departures weekly and has expanded its reach to Falmouth, Negril, Savanna-la-Mar, and Mandeville, having acquired competitor South Coast Express last year.
It started operations in 2006 with 28 departures weekly between Montego Bay and Kingston.
Earlier this month, the State body, the National Road Operating and Construction Company (NROCC), admitted that use of the recently opened Mount Rosser bypass dipped by more than a third since it started collecting a toll last month.
During the period prior to the toll collection, the road attracted approximately 5,000 to 6,000 vehicles per day, as motorists took advantage of the moratorium implemented to encourage use of the new road. But the numbers fell to 3,000 to 4,000 vehicles per day with the introduction of toll charges.
Toll rates implemented were $200 for Class 1 vehicles (cars), $420 for Class 2 vehicles (SUVs) and $1,000 for trucks.
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With Cherryl Hanson-Simpson
Thursday, October 09, 2014
Recently, a reader confided that she believed that she had lost her enthusiasm for her life goals and that she felt weary whenever she thought about all the tasks she had to complete to make her dreams come true. Somewhere along the way, it seems her get-up-and-go approach had deserted her.
Although she knew exactly what she wanted to achieve and was very clear about the strategies she needed to employ, several events had distracted her from her objectives. Like an old vinyl record that was stuck in a groove, she was just spinning around in circles and not making headway on her goals.
Despite her best efforts, she felt annoyed that she was unable to break free of the malaise that was hindering her progress. What sure-fire techniques could she utilise to get back on track? she wondered. How could she regain the confidence and vitality that would be required to accomplish her goals?
Fatigue and burnout are not uncommon setbacks faced by persons who are working hard at achieving their goals. Once weariness has replaced perseverance, over time it can eat away at your resolve to be successful. Let’s look at some strategies that can help you to get back in the right money groove.
Distractions are tests
If you’ve established an action plan to help you achieve your goals, understand that you will be tested to see how dedicated you are to your dreams. You’re not going to have a smooth ride all along your journey; you will experience frustrations, challenges and other obstacles that will try to block your path.
Think back to what you were doing just before you got sidetracked. Chances are you had developed a good momentum in your work efforts, or you may have been on the verge of a big breakthrough. Suddenly, something happened in your life that turned your attention away from your goal finish line.
Don’t get too preoccupied in dissecting how and why you went awry; just understand that this is a normal part of the achievement process. Expect to be hit with delaying interruptions, especially when you are progressing well. Just quickly dismiss the distractions so that you can go back to your tasks.
Refocus on your target
It’s easy to lose your way if you don’t continually remind yourself of your strategic action plan. If you find that you are floundering at sea, it’s probably because you took your eyes off the navigation device that would point out your final destination and steer you along the path needed to reach it.
This is why it is critical to write down your goals and action plans, and create visual reminders of the things you are working towards. Use images that can evoke an emotional response; for example, take your picture or family portrait and put it beside a photo of a dream house, fancy car, or luxury resort.
If you have lost some of your passion for your dreams, take some time to review your written objectives and remind yourself why it was important for you to accomplish these particular goals. Use negative reinforcement to scare yourself about what could happen if you fail to achieve your plans.
Insulate and immerse yourself
When you are feeling uncertain about the worth of your goals or your ability to accomplish your dreams, it’s very important to avoid all forms of negativity that will only reinforce your vulnerable state. This is not the time to hang around naysayers or people who are not goal-focused themselves.
Seek out persons who have accomplished what you are working towards. Talk to friends who recently bought their own homes or got through with their educational plans. If you are in business, have lunch with colleagues who are currently experiencing success and be encouraged by their results.
Develop the habit of nurturing yourself with a diet of motivational literature or self-help websites. Every day for at least 30 minutes, tune into a world where people are determined and progressive about their dreams. This will help you to build a more positive outlook and, eventually, escape your malaise.
Force yourself anyway
When you were in school, most teachers didn’t really care if you liked their subjects; you had to do the work because it was required. As an adult at work there are times when you just have to ignore how you feel and just get up and get the job done so that you don’t lose your employment or income.
Similarly, although you may feel distracted or discouraged about your goals, you may simply have to disregard your inner voice and plod on anyway. Learn how to talk tough to yourself and force yourself to just do the task at hand even if you don’t feel particularly excited or motivated.
You will often find that once you fight your negative feelings and keep doing the necessary actions, you will eventually slip back into the groove and get back on track towards your goals. As you start to reap little victories along the way, your passion to attain your dreams will return.
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BY SHERDON COWAN
Sunday, October 12, 2014
CHARLIE Smith High and St George’s College advanced to the semi-finals of the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports’ Association (ISSA)/LIME Walker Cup knockout competition with victories over Wolmer’s Boys’ and Camperdown High, respectively, at the Constant Spring playing field yesterday.
Charlie Smith stunned Wolmer’s 2-1, while St George’s College outscored Camperdown 4-2 in the opening game of the double-header.
Charlie Smith have now booked a date with 2011 winners St George’s College.
The mouth-watering clash in the featured game which started out very shakily, had the large crowd on its feet in the latter stages of the first half. Joel Pagan opened the scoring for Wolmer’s in the 40th minute with a well-driven shot from the edge of the 18-yard box, which eluded a diving Leon Taylor in goal for Charlie Smith.
However, Charlie Smith fired back in the 45th minute through a powerfully driven free kick by defender Odane Samuels from close to the half-line that burst through the hands of Dane Lee, who did duties in goal for Wolmer’s.
Charlie Smith’s marksman Bebeto McDonald then sent his team to the break 2-1 up when he drove home a firm right-footer from close range in time added.
The scores would remain unchanged for the remainder of the game as both teams failed to capitalise on chances created in what was an even more action-packed half.
Wolmer’s talismanic player Jaheel Hyde brought the crowd to its feet when he eluded two Charlie Smith defenders and rifled a long-range left-footed shot which sailed over the crossbar.
McDonald replied for Charlie Smith shortly after with a display of nippy footwork to get by a defender and fire a curling shot which came back off the upright.
Winning coach Jerome Waite lauded his team for a spirited performance.
“It was a very tactical game and very physical. Wolmer’s is a much stronger team than the Charlie Smith team, but today (yesterday) the youngsters rose above expectations.
“This is a team that defeated us last year and went on to win the Walker Cup and we were definitely looking to return that favour and these players have done it well today,” he said.
Waite added that sterling defensive work by Samuels to keep Jaheel Hyde out of the game resulted in his team coming out victorious.
Meanwhile, Wolmer’s coach Ludlow Bernard was left disappointed with the loss, but took some positives from the encounter.
“I am going to look on the positive side of the loss here today. I think it will awaken our little slumber and allow us to regenerate and come forward again. I have no doubt we still have the quality, and it is unfortunate again our ‘keeper let us down. But then again that is something that we have to deal with and sort it out properly,” he lamented.
The pipe-opener between St George’s College and Camperdown High was expected to be a thriller and it lived up to its billing. In the end it was the North Street-based outfit who came out victors through a brace from Shevon Stewart in the 18th and 45th minutes, and a goal each from Amoy Brown in the 16th, and Gregory Messam Jr in the 90th, while Kevin Clarke in the 45th and Ramish McKnight in the 88th, were the goal scorers for Camperdown.
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