Although an important part of T&T’s economy, the manufacturing sector’s performance has been disappointing in recent years. According to the T&T Manufacturers’ Association, the value of manufacturing output declined at an average annual rate of 4.3% from 2010 to 2014. In its “Review of the Economy 2014”, the government noted that economic activity in manufacturing fell by 5.8% in 2012...
An important contributor to T&T’s economy, the construction industry accounted for an estimated 5.2% of GDP in 2014 and 15.6% of the labour force, according to T&T’s Central Statistical Office. 2014 was a particularly good year for the sector, which grew by 7.1%, outperforming the wider economy for a second consecutive year. In 2015, the energy-related construction sector is expected...
Though tourism plays a significant role in T&T’s economy, unlike other Caribbean economies, it is not the most important sector. Its total contribution to GDP in 2013 was $1.26bn, or 3.1%, and the industry directly and indirectly employed 27,500 people, or 4.5%. In the past decade, arrivals have fluctuated between a low of 388,000 in 2010, reflecting the global slump in 2008-09, and a high...
In global terms, T&T ranks as a small but well established market for insurance. According to figures from the Association of T&T Insurance Companies, general insurers wrote gross premiums of around $494.1m in 2013, while life and health insurers wrote gross premiums of about $524.3m. Over the previous five years, the general trends in profitability have been favourable. Life insurance...
Conditions in T&T’s capital markets continue to be shaped by the central bank’s tightening of monetary policy. In line with the expectations of the financial sector, the central bank moved ahead with a fifth consecutive increase in its repo rate of 25 basis points to 4% in late May 2015. The increases have begun to have an impact on domestic money market rates, or commercial banks’ prime...
The commercial banking sector is one of the many sources of stability in T&T’s economy. With eight long established banks, backed by major international groups or the government, T&T’s banking system is well capitalised, well regulated and conservative in its lending practices. According to the Central Bank of T&T, at the end of October 2014 the eight banks had total assets within...
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