All Countries and All Sectors

Trinidad and Tobago has a long history as a transport hub. On his first trip to the region in 1595, British explorer Walter Raleigh considered the Gulf of Paria, away from the hurricane belt to the north, to be a suitable port. He found the ideal source of asphalt for caulking his ships in Pitch Lake and could use the naturally sheltered...

The construction industry is an important part of the local economy, accounting for almost 5% of GDP. Central bank data projected this figure would fall to 4.7% in 2016, a 0.2-percentage-point decrease from the year before. The bank also expected the construction and quarrying segment would contract by 7.6% in 2016. This downturn in...

Trinidad and Tobago’s manufacturing sector is the largest in the English-speaking Caribbean. In 2016 it was expected to represent 7.8% of total GDP, with total output worth an estimated TT$8.29bn ($1.2bn), according to the government’s estimates in the “Review of the Economy 2016”. This made it the third-largest sector of the economy after the...

With a declining economy restricting premium income growth and bringing rates under sustained pressure, 2016 was a challenging year for Trinidad and Tobago’s insurance sector. The relative scarcity of foreign exchange has also caused some issues with regard to the payment of reinsurers.

Government bond issuance in Trinidad and Tobago was relatively quiet in 2016, with just two new issues of government debt coming to market, totalling TT$2.16bn ($322.7m). This would have come as a surprise to most market participants, particularly given the budgetary requirements to meet target spending. However, 2017 is likely to see...

Established in October 1981, the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange (TTSE) played a key role in socialising the benefits of economic growth that followed the discovery of hydrocarbons reserves in the 1960s.