In This Issue
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Plan and then plan again
Committing yourself to a realistic investment plan requires understanding your resources and obligations, as well as the essential attributes of the lifestyle you desire in the future. As you plan your investment strategy, leave room for investment underperformance. Committing your plan to writing may force you to address issues that you might otherwise glide over..
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INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY
| ISSUER |
SECURITY
TYPE
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AMOUNT AVAILABLE |
AUCTION DATE |
INTEREST
RATE |
TENOR |
Government of Saint Lucia
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Bond (ECSE)
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US$9.00M |
December 21, 2015 |
7.25% (max) |
6-year |
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International: Venezuelan opposition sweeps parliamentary elections
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) has released the preliminary but "irreversible" results of the country's National Assembly elections. In the early hours of Monday morning, Tibisay Lucena, the president of the CNE, congratulated the Venezuelan people on their impressive "demonstration of civility" before announcing that the opposition coalition, Mesa de la Unidad Democrática (MUD) [Roundtable of Democratic Unity], had swept to victory in Sunday's legislative elections, venezuelanalysis.com reported. According to Lucena, the ruling Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV) [United Socialist Party of Venezuela] had so far gained just 46 seats in parliament, while MUD had gained 99 out of a total of 167 - according to the most recent count. Twenty-two seats are yet to be announced, including three representatives for the country's indigenous population. Tibisay also highlighted the unprecedented level of voter participation and revealed that turnout had reached 74.25% of the registered electorate. The announcement came on the heels of intensive voting throughout Venezuela, with many voting centres remaining open past their scheduled 6pm closing time in order to accommodate voters queuing outside. The victory hands the MUD a "simple majority" in the National Assembly, but this could change to a "qualified majority" depending on the outcome of the remaining 22 seats. If the MUD goes on to win 100 seats it will be able to remove ministers from the presidential cabinet. If it manages to gain more than 111 seats, the coalition would wield enough power in the legislative body to dismiss Supreme Court Judges, reform the constitution and require a recall referendum of the national executive without having to collect the minimum quota of signatures required by the country's constitution. President of Venezuela and leader of the PSUV, Nicolas Maduro, moved immediately on national television to accept the results - the most debilitating defeat for the ruling Chavista government since it came to power in 1999. "It's not a time to cry, it's a time to fight," stated Maduro. "The struggle for socialism is just beginning - we are experts in starting over, we came from the streets, we are the people of difficulties," he added.
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St. Kitts: St. Kitts suspends Citizenship by Investment Program for Syrians
During a Washington reception on December 3, the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis announced the suspension of Syrians from attaining dual nationality via the islands' citizenship by investment program. Exclusion for second citizenship eligibility will hold, the Prime Minister noted, until further federal vetting processes can be completed. The statement, first issued in St. Kitts and Nevis last week, comes in the wake of ongoing reports of counterfeit Syrian passports flooding the international black market. St. Kitts and Nevis's exclusion additionally follows the government's recall in 2013, barring Iranian citizens from its program due to security concerns. "As the pioneer country in developing a second citizenship by investment program, we are proud that St. Kitts and Nevis established a standard for the highest due diligence in processing applicants, while developing an integral investment platform and helping the island's economy," Hon. Prime Minister Timothy Harris said. "These are hallmarks that have set St. Kitts and Nevis onto the international stage as one of the most lucrative and appealing locations to attain second citizenship by investment." St. Kitts and Nevis, alongside economic citizenship offerings in Dominica and Grenada, have emplaced rigorous screening processes in establishing application protocol. The security of a country's borders remains top priority-standards the St. Kitts and Nevis government holds to highest standard to ensure integrity of its citizenship by investment programs, and opportunities for collaboration with its regional and international partners. "Today's perilous times call for heightened security measures-both from government bodies and the global citizen," said Lanny Davis, executive vice president at LEVICK Communications and former White House counsel. Speaking at the reception, Prime Minister Harris joined diplomatic representatives and Caribbean leaders in highlighting avenues for joint partnerships between the island nations and the U.S. Ongoing since the 2000 Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act, the Caribbean nations remain poised to continue expanding and diversifying their trade offerings, drawing interest from the U.S. market for foreign investment into the islands' economies. "Dual nationality is, simply, the 21st century's insurance policy," said Micha Emmett, the global managing director and legal advisor of UK-based citizenship solutions firm CS Global Partners. "From visa-free or -upon arrival options for 131 countries to the tranquil experience at the heart of the Caribbean existence, investing in St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica or Grenada grants tremendous benefits while, in turn, supporting the economic developments of each respective island nation. At the heel of the recent events in Mali, Nigeria, Paris, Ankara, and Beirut, a second citizenship from a Caribbean island provides indispensable access to a safe haven, while opening substantial business possibilities." St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica and Grenada present various real estate and diversification investment offerings, from a $100,000 contribution to Dominica's Economic Diversification Fund; to $200,000 donation to Grenada's National Transformation Fund; and a $250,000 minimum investment to the St. Kitts and Nevis Sugar Fund Diversification.
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Trinidad: Trinidad and Tobago now officially in a recession
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad -- Trinidad and Tobago has experienced its fourth quarter of negative growth and is now officially in a recession, Central Bank Governor Jawala Rambarran has announced. A recession is a sustained period of general economic decline defined as a decline in GDP for two or more consecutive quarters. Rambarran said the recession was triggered by prolonged supply disruptions in the energy sector, resulting in shortfalls in natural gas that in turn adversely affected output of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petrochemicals. "Lower energy prices also negatively impacted the domestic energy sector. This has already been reflected in job losses at some energy companies. The decision by Arcelor Mittal to idle its steel plant will not only affect energy output but also jobs," he noted. Rambarran said in recent years the non-energy sector had kept the economy "from veering off its already weak growth trajectory" but seems to have lost its momentum and weakness has crept into key sectors, including distribution and construction. He said the Central Bank expects the Trinidad and Tobago economy to contract by 1.5 percent, in a reversal of the sluggish growth of one percent recorded last year. The energy sector is expected to contract by more than three percent and activity in the non-energy sector is expected to be flat.
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Saint Lucia: St. Lucia Enters Zip Code Era
SAINT LUCIA - Postal Service Thursday introduced a new way of writing postal addresses, reaching, in the process, a milestone in its development and that of the country. What is introduced is something called Postcodes, which is the British identifier for a given postal delivery point or a collection of postal delivery points. The same thing is called zip codes under the American system. Postmaster General, Josiah Charles in explaining the relevance of the new system noted that it plays a significant role in the country's economic and social development. "Any address within a country must help identify a geographical location and facilitate the flow of goods, services and communications among persons, businesses, government and organizations. Bearing these key functions of addressing in mind and guided by the UPU (Universal Postal Union) addressing standards, the government of Saint Lucia through the Saint Lucia Postal Service endeavoured to institutionalize a national postal addressing policy," Charles said. According to him the postcodes or zip codes identify a delivery point with minimal error and serve as a tool for businesses and government departments for collecting and comparing data on postcode areas, which assists in establishing market segments that are key to business development and providing services within the country. "They allow Saint Lucia to meet international postal standards, facilitating international trade and contribute positively towards the ease of doing business in a country," Charles said. He added that postcodes facilitate the business exchange between medium and small enterprises (who mainly use the postal system) thereby contributing to economic development. The model adopted by Saint Lucia Postal Service works as follows: First there is something called the Postal Zones which are the existing electoral divisions. They are called Postal Administrative Divisions. There are 17 electoral or postal divisions. Bear in mind that the international code for Saint Lucia are the digits LC. This code is already in existence. The postcode model for Saint Lucia is alphanumeric, meaning that it contains both letters and numbers. Together they make up seven digits, an example being AA01 101. Double space the space between the fourth and fifth characters. Here's how it really works: select an electoral or postal division, example Gros Islet which is 01. Castries Northwest is 02, Castries North 03, Castries Central 04, Castries East 05 and so on. The postcode reads thus: LC (for Saint Lucia) and 01 (for Gros islet). The first part of the postcode will look like this: LC01. Within the Gros Islet electoral or postal division there are six delivery points which are post offices or stand-alone letter boxes. Each of those delivery points is given a number, example,Marisule Post Office has the number 5. Now since the post offices serve surrounding areas each of the main areas a post office serves is given a number. The Marisule Post Office, for example, serves seven officially named areas, therefore a number is assigned to each area starting at 01. Therefore a resident living in Marisule, Gros Islet would have a postal address like this: Mr. Micah George, Marisule (Gros Islet), LC01 501, Saint Lucia. For someone living in Castries East the first part of the postcode will be LC05. If that person lives in Entrepot for example then the nearest post office would be the Marchand Post Office. That person's postal address would be as follows: Mr. Micah George, Entrepot, Marchand P.O, Castries LC05 201, Saint Lucia. The few building numbers Saint Lucia has, its many unnamed streets, unplanned development, limited home delivery and its absence of GPS maps and detailed zoning were all taken into consideration when developing a model for post-coding Saint Lucia. The country's postal network and the existence of its electoral boundaries/divisions were also taken into consideration. With postcodes there will be faster sorting, routing and delivery of mails. It will facilitate both manual and machine handling, reduce the risk of confusion between destinations with similar name, and encourage correct formatting of addresses on items it will also reduce the amount of undeliverable mail and meet international addressing standards driven by e-commerce.
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