Feb 2015 Financial News

Central Bank Governor: T&T economy to grow 1.5 per cent

Feb 05, 2015

Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran is forecasting 1.5 per cent growth for the T&T economy this year—up from the revised estimate of 0.8 per cent for 2014. He said that projection is based on the bank’s analysis which shows a strengthening of the economy. 

“We expect the energy sector to grow about one per cent, this is actually a turn around from a contraction of 1.7 per cent that was experienced in 2014. This is actually the best performance of the energy sector,” he said yesterday when he addressed a breakfast meeting of the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce at its Columbus Circle, Westmoorings, headquarters. Rambarran said the non-energy sector was projected to grow two per cent this year based on “conservative assumptions.” 

However, his optimistic economic forecasts were described as “a bit strange” by Chamber CEO Catherine Kumar. “Of course we also have to recognise that this is an election year and in an election year there is great expenditure—expenditure by all the parties—and while this is not productive expenditure, that is not the kind of expenditure that we’d like to see, it just adds to the GDP of the country and therefore we may see growth but is it a growth that we can sustain?” she asked.

Chamber president Moonilal Lalchan, who is also vice-president, Finance and Administration at Atlantic, commenting on the impact of falling oil prices, said there were no plans to cut expenditure at the company. “We are buckling down for the long-haul and we are very confident that we will ride out this phase. From an Atlantic point of view, we have all confidence in the economy that it will continue to grow,” he said.

Kumar: CAL losses worrisome

Speaking to Guardian after the meeting about CAL’s financial position, Kumar said the airline’s US$60 million losses were a significant draw on the Treasury. “If you look at revenue over the number of employees, it is not where it should be at all. There is a lot of internal work to be done with CAL. The declining oil prices are going to help the airline since they will have fuel at a lower cost. It (the problem CAL faces) is internal. It is at the management level, the board level,” she said.

Kumar as wondered about the silence from CAL CEO Michael DiLollo’s on the airline’s poor performance. “I suppose it’s a situation where, being not from T&T, he’s probably taking the time to understand the organisation better so when he comes out to speak, he is speaking from understanding what is happening in the organisation,” she said. Kumar said DiLollo has to say “what he is going to do differently from what the previous person did” to turn around the airline.

Source:
Nadaleen Singh
Trinidad Guardian
Thursday February 5, 2015

http://www.guardian.co.tt/business/2015-02-05/central-bank-governor-tt-economy-grow-15-cent