Economy
From The Report: Trinidad & Tobago 2015
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With a hydrocarbons-based economy, T&T ranks highly on a number of economic indicators, despite its small size. According to estimates from the IMF, T&T’s per capita income was $21,310 in 2014, the third-highest level in the Americas, after the US and Canada. The World Bank categorises T&T as a high-income nation, while the World Economic Forum classifies it as an innovation-driven economy. The strength of T&T’s energy sector has enabled the country to maintain a stable and strong currency, and post persistent current account surpluses. However, with weaker oil and gas prices and reserves expected to be exhausted by 2025-30, according to the World Bank, economic diversification will be high on the agenda for policymakers. Though lower hydrocarbons prices are set to reduce government revenues, the country’s economic fundamentals should remain strong in 2015 and beyond. This chapter features interviews with Larry Howai, Minister of Finance and the Economy; Vasant Bharath, Minister of Trade, Industry, Investment and Communications (MTIIC); and Gerard Johnson, General Manager of the Caribbean Country Department, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Articles from this Chapter

Interview

Larry Howai, Minister of Finance and the Economy: Interview
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Interview:Larry Howai What effects does the Ministry of Finance expect oil and gas prices will have on state revenues? LARRY HOWAI: In the short term we expect hydrocarbons price volatility to have two main effects on revenue. First, we project that prices will remain relatively soft for two to three years, which will particularly affect upstream revenues. However, while we expect the impact of low gas prices to be negligible for midstream operations, some additional losses might occur in…

Interview

Vasant Bharath, Minister of Trade, Industry, Investment and Communications (MTIIC): Interview
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Interview:Vasant Bharath To what extent is boosting the capacity of industry and services in Trinidad and Tobago linked to trade? VASANT BHARATH: The ability to grow industrial capacity will define our future trade prospects. Our primary focus is on the country’s import bill, and we source investors with the expertise and experience to reduce these imports, to the extent that we are able to manufacture the goods ourselves. We have identified at least 20% of the import bill to be targeted…

Analysis

Trinidad and Tobago has taken notable steps to improve the business environment
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Trinidad and Tobago was one of 10 countries identified by the World Bank in its “Doing Business 2015” report as having improved the most in terms of the ease of doing business through 2013-14. Of the 189 countries assessed by the organisation, T&T’s overall rank was 79th. By this measure, it compares favourably with other CARICOM and Latin America countries. Rapid Improvements For the 2015 report, T&T’s overall ranking increased by 12 spots over the previous year, making the country…

Interview

Gerard Johnson, General Manager of the Caribbean Country Department, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB): Interview
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Interview:Gerard Johnson What policy interventions should be prioritised given the current low commodity price environment? GERARD JOHNSON: Trinidad and Tobago has a high dependence on the energy sector, making it economically susceptible to external shocks in commodity prices. Energy income accounts for about half of the government’s total revenues. As such, the recent decline in oil prices and increased uncertainty in global energy markets are major challenges for T&T. These factors…

Analysis

Various government agencies are working to boost exports and inward investment in Trinidad and Tobago
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As a small twin-island nation, foreign trade is an important part of Trinidad and Tobago’s economy. In 2014 merchandise exports and merchandise imports amounted to $11.81bn and $8.39bn, respectively, according to the central bank’s “2014 Annual Economic Survey”, with total GDP that year reaching around $28bn. Some 85% of exports are accounted for by the energy sector, which includes oil, gas and petrochemicals. The remaining 15% of exports mostly include manufactured items and agricultural…