Trinidad & Tobago Economic Research Highlights

Covid-19 Research & Views - Trinidad & Tobago

Banking in Trinidad and Tobago: will Covid-19 spur a shift to fintech?

OBG

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Earlier this year, Trinidad and Tobago was looking relatively resistant to the worst effects of the coronavirus pandemic. However, given that oil and tourism are two of the main contributors to GDP – with a 45% and 7.6% share, respectively, in 2018 – T&T is beginning to feel the economic pinch. In response, policymakers have deployed a variety of fiscal and monetary policy tools, supported by the country's banks. Banks have implemented reductions in interest rates and extended loan repayment deferrals...

Covid-19 and nearshoring: which Latin American countries are set for a boom?

OBG

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‘Nearshoring’ – whereby companies shift their offshore production capacities closer to home – is experiencing significant growth in Latin America amid the coronavirus pandemic. As OBG has detailed, supply chain disruption created by the pandemic has led many multinational companies to rethink their production operations. Even prior to Covid-19, a ‘China+1’ strategy was becoming increasingly common. Rising production costs – combined with the US-China trade war – caused some companies to diversify...

Food security and Covid-19 in Trinidad and Tobago

OBG

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As global supply chains become increasingly fragmented amid the spread of Covid-19, the discourse around food security in Trinidad and Tobago is being reinvigorated. While ministers made it clear that T&T has sufficient food supplies for up to six months, policymakers have underscored the importance of prioritising domestic agricultural production. Kevin Charles, chief secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly, told local media in late March that the island is preparing for a hike in agricultural production...

Creative disruption: How CEOs expect Covid-19 to reshape business in the region

While Latin America as a whole has struggled to extend the growth and productivity gains it made in the early 2010s, it still remains an appealing and dynamic region to do business. However, the onset of Covid-19 in early 2020 added another layer of complexity to ongoing efforts to improve business environments, from Baja California to Buenos Aires. Although government responses in the region varied in severity, the one constant is the poor near-term economic outlook. The latest figures from the IMF...

Has Covid-19 upended the global labour market?

OBG

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From lockdowns to remote work and widespread job losses, the Covid-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the way people work. These interruptions are likely to have a significant impact on the global labour market well into the future. The initial outbreak of Covid-19 created widespread disruption for workers. Lockdowns prevented many from travelling to their workplaces, while the economic fallout of the pandemic resulted in layoffs, restructuring and pay cuts. While the pandemic is global in nature...

How is Covid-19 accelerating structural changes across Latin American economies?

One of the last regions in the world to be affected by the Coronavirus pandemic, Latin America's reported Covid-19 case and death numbers have grown steadily since late February. However, given the importance of the region's economies to global value chains, the need to ensure the continual operation of key services and industries has led to a number of key measures being implemented in a number of countries. While these efforts were initially focused on keeping essential supply chains open, they may result...