West Caribbean Businessforecast Industry Forecast

The West Caribbean Business Forecast Report provides essential macroeconomic, political and financial analysis for companies doing business in the West Caribbean. The West Caribbean Business Forecast Report helps businesses with West Caribbean market assessment, strategic planning and decision making to promote growth and profitability in the West Caribbean and is an essential tool for CEOs, Chairmen, Finance Directors/CFOs, Managing Directors, Marketing/Sales Directors with commercial interests in this emerging market.

An influential new analysis of the West Caribbean's political, economic and financial prospects through end-2012, just published by award-winning forecasters, Business Monitor International.

 

 

 

Key Uses of the West Caribbean Business Forecast Report | The West Caribbean's Political Outlook | The West Caribbean's Economic Outlook | The West Caribbean's Business Environment | Key West Caribbean Industry Sectors | the West Caribbean BMI's Executive Summary | Our North and South America Subscribers | Full Range of BMI's Business Forecast Reports

Key Uses for the West Caribbean Business Forecast Report

  • Forecast the pace and stability of the West Caribbean's economic and industry growth through end-2012
  • Identify and evaluate adverse political and economic trends in the West Caribbean, to facilitate risk mitigation strategies
  • Assess critical shortcomings of the West Caribbean's business environment that pose hidden barriers and costs to corporate profitability
  • Contextualise the West Caribbean's country risks against North and South America regional peers using BMI's country comparative risk ratings system
  • Target business opportunities in the West Caribbean's high-growth industry sectors
  • Evaluate external threats to doing business in the West Caribbean, including currency volatility, the commodity price boom and protectionist policies

The West Caribbean Business Forecast Report by Business Monitor International includes four major sections: the West Caribbean's Political Outlook, the West Caribbean's Economic Outlook, the West Caribbean's Business Environment and the West Caribbean's Key Industry Sectors.

The West Caribbean's Political Outlook:

What are the political risks to doing business in the West Caribbean over the next 5 years?

BMI's West Caribbean Country Risk Ratings evaluate the short and medium-term threats posed by government instability, adverse economic policy-making, deterioration in the business environment and external shocks.

The West Caribbean Political Outlook Contents

  • SWOT Analysis for the West Caribbean Market
    Political Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats facing the West Caribbean.
  • Political Stability and Risk Assessment for the West Caribbean
    BMI's Risk Ratings assess explicit short and long-term risks to political stability; latest ratings, rankings and trends for the West Caribbean's risk are compared with North and South America regional and global averages.
  • Current Administration and Policy-making in the West Caribbean
    BMI profiles key policy-makers and power-brokers in the West Caribbean government, assessing threats to the continuity of West Caribbean economic policy, and likely changes to the business operating environment through end-2012.
  • West Caribbean Foreign Policy
    BMI examines key trends and shifts in the West Caribbean's foreign relations and alignments with North and South America neighbours, the United States and Europe, focusing on external influences.

Key Benefits

  1. Benchmark the West Caribbean's risk profile against its neighbours, the global and regional average, allowing easy comparison of risks between key business markets.
  2. Identify, evaluate and anticipate political and security risks to the business environment in the West Caribbean, and to your company's current operations and future plans.
  3. Gain valuable insights into the West Caribbean government and policy-making, through BMI's specialist team of analysts and economists, and their exclusive network of private and public sector sources.

The West Caribbean's Economic Outlook:

How will West Caribbean economic policy-making and performance impact corporate profitability over 2008-12?

BMI provides fully independent 5-year forecasts for the West Caribbean through end-2012 for more than 35 macroeconomic variables. We evaluate West Caribbean growth, and also forecast the impact of economic management, including central bank policy, on profitability.

The West Caribbean Economic Outlook Contents

The West Caribbean Business Forecast Report features explicit BMI economic forecasts for the West Caribbean, with supporting commentary and analysis, for end-2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 set against West Caribbean government views. Underpinning our West Caribbean forecasts are key assumptions for the global economy through end-2012, covering growth, inflation, employment, trade and investment, interest and exchange rates in the US, Japan and the Euro-zone.

Coverage of Key Economic Issues in the West Caribbean

  • Economic Activity in the West Caribbean
    Real GDP growth; industrial growth; employment growth; inflation and consumer prices; consumption (indicative wages, retail sales, consumer confidence)
  • Fiscal Policy in the West Caribbean
    Current macroeconomic strategy and implementation policies; government finance (revenue, expenditure, budget balance); tax reforms
  • Monetary Policy in the West Caribbean
    Interest rate trends (bank lending and deposit rates); inflation (retail price inflation, consumer price inflation); exchange rate policy in the West Caribbean; West Caribbean currency controls; influence of foreign direct investment inflows; exchange rates and foreign exchange reserves
  • Balance of Payments in the West Caribbean
    Merchandise trade (exports, imports, trade balance); current account balance
  • Foreign Direct Investment in the West Caribbean
    Foreign direct investment approvals and inflows; the foreign investment climate
  • West Caribbean External Debt
    Debt profile (short- and long-term debt; public and private sector exposure)

Key Benefits

  1. Rely upon BMI's 100% independent Forecast Scenarios for the West Caribbean and underlying assumptions - we take no advertising and are privately-owned.
  2. Exploit the benefits of BMI's comprehensive and reliable macroeconomic the West Caribbean database, sourced and fully maintained by BMI from an extensive network of private sector, government and multilateral contacts.
  3. Gain key insights into the current and future direction of West Caribbean government economic policy

The West Caribbean's Business Environment:

How internationally competitive is the West Caribbean's regulatory environment, and what changes can be expected?

BMI assesses levels of transparency, flexibility of labour market, tax burden, development of the banking sector and credit availability, infrastructure and IT, foreign investment regime and trade liberalisation in the West Caribbean.

The West Caribbean Business Environment Contents

  • the West Caribbean's Business Environment Risk Rating with SWOT Analysis
    Short and long-term business environment risk ratings for the West Caribbean, benchmarked against ratings for North and South America and neighbouring countries.
  • Country Competitiveness for the West Caribbean
    Competitiveness of the West Caribbean's business operating environment in supporting corporate growth and profitability over the 5-year forecast horizon, compared with regional neighbours.

Coverage of Key Business Environment Issues in the West Caribbean's Domestic Environment

Transparency, cronyism and corruption; labour market flexibility; corporate tax burden; interest rate levels; access of private sector to lines of credit; sophistication of banking sector and stock market; levels of business confidence; infrastructure and IT

  • Foreign Direct Investment in the West Caribbean
    Analysis of foreign investment regime, foreign ownership laws; attractiveness of business environment to foreign investors; review of major foreign direct investments over the last 24 months, and of strategic sectors attracting most interest
  • Foreign Trade with the West Caribbean
    Analysis of trading environment, government trade policy, liberalisation measures, tariffs and membership of trade areas

The West Caribbean's Key Industry Sectors

Which industry sectors in the West Caribbean will grow fastest, and where are the major investment opportunities in the West Caribbean market?

BMI targets investment opportunities in the West Caribbean's high growth industries, including automotives, food and drink, infrastructure, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, telecommunications and IT.

Coverage of the West Caribbean's Key Industry Sectors - West Caribbean Market Overview

Size, value and structure of industry; impact of liberalisation and privatisation on sector performance and prospects; friendliness of business environment

  • Latest Developments in the West Caribbean
    Review of latest projects, deals, privatisations, mergers and acquisitions, and implications for sector performance; company rankings for national and multinational companies in the West Caribbean; main industry players by local sales, employee size, market share and main brands, products and services
  • 5-year Industry Forecast for the West Caribbean
    Historic dataset (2003-2007) and BMI forecasts through end-2012, covering headline industry data broken out by sub sector

Key Benefits

  1. Target strategic sector-by-sector opportunities in the West Caribbean's high growth industries, attracting public expenditure and foreign investment; identify key players and competitors driving growth, investment and business opportunities.
  2. Benefit from competitive intelligence on top national and multinational companies operating in the West Caribbean's major industry sectors, including analysis of recent trends in sales and market share, company strategies, product launches and latest deals.

Who buys the North and South America Business Forecast Reports?

The West Caribbean Business Forecast Report is an essential tool for CEOs, Chairmen, Finance Directors/CFOs, Managing Directors, Marketing/Sales Directors with commercial interests in the West Caribbean.

Our Business Forecast Reports are relied upon by corporates, banks, government departments and multinational organisations around the world.

Business Monitor International's Business Forecast Report subscribers include:

ABB Mexico, SA de CV, American Express Argentina, American Honda Motor Co Inc, Ansa Technologies Ltd, Antigua Commercial Bank, ATCO Structures Inc, Atlas Copco Chilena, Banco de Mexico, BASF Interservicios SA de CV, Bristol Myers Squibb, Carl Zeiss de Mexico SA de CV, Chrysler LLC, Coca-Cola Servicios de Colombia, Colgate-Palmolive CA, Glaxosmithkline Chile Ltda, Hyatt International, Lafarge SA, Levi Strauss Mexico, Merck SA, Merrill Lynch - Brazil, Siemens S.A. de C.V., Sony Ericsson, Standard Chartered Bank, Unilever Caribbean, West Indies Oil Company 

 

" The most useful section for us is the Central Economic Forecast. We use this as the basis for our volume and financial projections, as it gives us a sense of the economic context we are operating in. "
Knowledge & Insights Manager, Coca-Cola Servicios de Colombia, Colombia.

BMI's Executive Summary for the West Caribbean

[TOP]

Waiting On Standby

In recent years, the Dominican government, under the leadership of President Leonel Fernández, has deservedly received many plaudits from multilateral agencies and local business people alike for pulling the country out of the depths of an economic depression under the constraint of tight fiscal policy. Adherence to strict IMF guidelines has played a pivotal role in this process, with the authorities working within the guidelines outlined by the Fund as part of a standby loan agreement originally approved in January 2005. This arrangement is set to expire in January 2008, and with Economy Minister Temístocles Montas expected to enter into negotiations with the Fund over the coming months, there is much public discussion on whether the country has outgrown its need for IMF assistance.

From our standpoint, an extension to the current programme represents the most prudent choice for the government. A long-term resolution to the central bank's quasi-fiscal deficit was only approved by congress in July, and we believe that the authorities will need the reassuring presence of the IMF to maintain high levels of foreign investment inflows. This sentiment is echoed by the country's business community, which recently applauded the government for forging a successful working partnership with the Fund.

The one caveat, however, is that 2008 is an election year, meaning that the government may be more inclined to raise fiscal spending in order to ensure re-election. However, with a third tax hike required under the current arrangement, Fernández could face intense public pressure. If a recent strike, incited by labour union group the Alternative Social Forum, was anything to go by, such sentiment is likely to escalate in the months ahead.

Read about our other Business Forecast Reports  

Asia

Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam

Europe

Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Caucasus, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan & Central Asia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine

Middle East and Africa

Angola, Bahrain, Botswana, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Francophone West Africa, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon & Syria, Kenya, Kuwait, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, North Africa, Oman & Yemen, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Turkey, UAE, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

North & South America

Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, East Caribbean, Mexico, Peru, Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela, West Caribbean

 

Business Monitor International

Business Monitor International
A Market Leader in Country Risk, Industry Intelligence and Company Research

Mermaid House, 2 Puddle Dock, Blackfriars, London EC4V 3DS, UK

BUSINESS MONITOR INTERNATIONAL's country risk analysis and forecasts, market research on leading industries, and multinational company research is relied upon by corporates, banks, government departments and multilateral organisations in over 125 countries around the world.

Country Risk Analysis and Forecasts
BMI
has for 25 years specialised in political risk analysis, financial markets analysis, and macroeconomic forecasts on 175 global markets.

Industry Intelligence and Market Research
BMI's industry research covers Automotives; Banking; Chemicals; Defence & Security; Food & Drink; Freight Transport; Information Technology; Infrastructure; Insurance; Mining; Oil & Gas; Petrochemicals; Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare; Power; Telecommunications, and Tourism.

Company Research
BMI maintains a fully-researched 55,000-site database of multinational company subsidiaries located across global markets.