Caribbean Business Report for 30th March 2020

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THE
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Issue 568
March 30, 2020
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THE
INDEPENDENCE
PM: Priority 1, 2, 3 – resolve corona;
economic stimulation details next week
It’s now up to 9, the number of confirmed cases
of COVID-19 in St. Lucia. Among them is the first
case of community spread. Victim #9 has no travel
history or any connection with someone with
travel history. The five new cases were confirmed
in St. Lucia at the Ezra Long Laboratory at the
OKEU.
These details were provided when Prime Minister
Allen Chastanet, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sharon
Belmar-George and Acting Police Commissioner Milton Desir reported to the nation Sunday
afternoon.
Key announcements:
• Partial national quarantine extended to April 14 th ;
• Curfew now starts at 8:00pm and ends at 5:00am;
• Police will get tough in the next few days with curfew violators and businesses where social
distancing is not adhered to. New fines to be announced next week.
• Curfew violators will be held for 72 hours at custody suite
• Businesses that cannot enforce social distancing will be shutdown.
• All liquor licenses suspended
• Self-quarantine is apparently not working and so every suspected case will be under
supervised quarantine.
• Search on for persons who came into the island illegally; police extraction team mobilised
• Boat seized by marine police for entering the border illegally
• 130 Cuban doctors are on island to assist in fight against corona
The Prime Minister also announced that the transition to the Owen King E.U. Hospital is now
complete and Victoria Hospital will now become a respiratory hospital. Eleven additional respirators
have been ordered.
The Prime Minister has promised details of the ‘Corona Rescue Package’ with income support next
week.
Mr. Allen Chastanet reiterated that priority #1, #2, and #3 is ‘to resolve corona’. He said the country
cannot move on until ‘we curtail corona’.
»»
Headlines
¤ ¤ PM: Priority 1, 2, 3 – resolve corona;
economic stimulation details next week
¤ ¤ Saint Lucia records five new cases of
COVID-19
¤ ¤ St. Lucia Distillers donates Alcosan
sanitizer to elderly homes and hospital
¤ ¤ PCD: commits to keeping supermarkets,
stores and shops well stocked
¤ ¤ Sagicor: additional measures to assist
clients curing COVID-19
¤ ¤ Coronavirus should redirect attention to
food security
¤ ¤ Jannou Credit Union closed until further
notice
¤ ¤ Banks are closed this week. Services
offered online
¤ ¤ Republic Bank COVID-19 Care Package
¤ ¤ Caribbean song writing camp concluded
successfully in Martinique
¤ ¤ World Bank: US$11.9M for Telecommunications
in the Eastern Caribbean
¤ ¤ St. Lucia Youth Business Trust delivers
programs virtually
¤ ¤ St. Kitts PM imposes state of emergency
¤ ¤ Caribbean future not so bright for oil
and gas
¤ ¤ St. Kitts stimulus package
¤ ¤ Grenada’s state of emergency
¤ ¤ Antigua port remains open for business
¤ ¤ Martinique reports 15 new cases in 24 hrs
¤ ¤ Major cruise lines could be left out of US
bailout
¤ ¤ Cruise ship extend sailing suspensions
¤ ¤ Jamaica announces financial assistance
programme
¤ ¤ Trinidad government announces $1billion
COVID-19 package

St. Lucia Distillers donates Alcosan sanitizer
to elderly homes and hospital
Saint Lucia records
five new cases of
COVID-19
Local manufacturer St. Lucia Distillers has stepped in to fill the gap created when local
stores and shops ran out of sanitizers. This left thousands of St. Lucians defenseless in
the fight to contain the spread of COVID-19.
St. Lucia Distillers Ltd has partnered with the Windward and Leeward Brewery in
meeting the growing desperation for sanitizers.
Hand sanitizers disappeared off supermarket shelves once the Coronavirus spread
globally and this created an opportunity for St. Lucia Distillers. Production Manager
Lennox Wilson said within a week it had created Alcosan.
Marketing Manager Sergin Jn Baptiste says large quantities of Alcosan is being donated
free to homes for the elderly and local hospitals.
Alcosan can be purchased at supermarkets and shops throughout the island in two
sizes. The smaller bottles were supplied by the Windward and Leeward Brewery.
Managing Director Margaret Monplaisir says the production of Alcosan is a temporary
response to an urgent national need. It will be produced for as long as there is
a demand. Mrs. Monplaisir went on to ad that St. Lucia Distillers saw this not as a
business opportunity but as part of its corporate social responsibility.
The production of Alcosan is for a short period of time. It will cease once the traditional
suppliers are able to get back on track.
On Sunday, March 29, 2020 the Ezra Long
Laboratory at the Owen King EU Hospital
reported a total of five new cases of COVID-19.
This now brings the total number of COVID-19
cases recorded nationally to nine (9) to date.
Case One is a 24 year old female with travel history
to New York. She was quarantined at home and
presented at our health facility on March 27.
Case two is a 45 year old female with a travel
history to New York who presented at our
health facility on March 24.
Case three is a 47 female with recent travel
history to Barbados and Dominica. She
presented at the health facility on March 27.
Case four is a 36 male who had travel history
to Barbados and presented to our health
facility on March 27.
Case five is a 74 year old female with no travel
history or known contact with an individual
with travel history. She presented at our facility
on March 27.
Given case five has no travel history or known
contact with anyone with travel history, this
confirmed case points to the existence of local
transmission of COVID-19. Aggressive tracing
of the contacts of these cases is currently
underway by health teams dispatched to the
communities of interest.

PCD: commits to keeping supermarkets,
stores and shops well stocked
Peter and Company Distribution in St. Lucia has given its customers the
assurance that its warehouse and fleet of distribution vehicles will be operational
as restrictions are announced in response to the fight to contain the spread of
COVID-19.
Chief Executive Officer of Peter & Company Distribution, Michele Kalloo, has
given their customers the assurance that the warehouse, sales vans, and
delivery trucks which service shops, mini-marts and other accounts throughout
the country will remain operational as part of essential services keeping the
country supplied with critical products such as milk, baby formula, diapers,
OTC drugs, canned food, cleaning and personal care products.
PCD Chief Executive Officer - Michele Kalloo
Although the Sales and Distribution centre is under lockdown. The company
is promising St. Lucians that all is being done to ensure that its supply chain
remains open.
The PCD CEO went on to give a further assurance that every customer will have access to available goods as unusually large bulk orders will
not be PERMITTED– instead decisions will be made on historical sales averages.
PCD has also taken a strong stance against price gouging amid concerns of this unethical practices. Ms. Kalloo says Peter and Company
Distribution or any of its affiliates PCD Food Mart, PCD Wines and Spirits and Wet and Cold Express will not be tolerating price gouging.

Sagicor: additional measures to assist
clients curing COVID-19
In response to the challenges being faced by its
clients across the region due to the continued
spread of the COVID-19 virus, Sagicor has instituted
two key additional measures for pensioners and
mortgage holders.
Coronavirus should
redirect attention to
food security
Firstly, the early payment of pension to pensioners
to ensure they have the financial capability to meet
their current needs; and secondly, the deferral of
payments on both residential and commercial
mortgages to existing and new clients.
Ravi Rambarran
Group Chief Operating Officer
Sagicor Financial Company Limited
These measures will remain in place until June 30,
2020 in the first instance as Sagicor continues to
respond to rapidly evolving conditions.
Sagicor reinforced its previous commitment that
all COVID-19 related claims under health and life
insurance policies shall be honored.
In addition, clients shall have the option to claim
three months of prescription drugs under Sagicor’s
health policies. The company also reiterated that no life insurance policy will be terminated
within the next 90 days and encourage clients to contact their financial advisor.
President & Chief Executive Officer of Sagicor Life Inc, Ravi Rambarran said “We recognize
that the circumstances of each client vary and so we encourage our clients to reach out
to their Sagicor representative as we remain committed to providing financial advice and
support”.
These measures are in addition to Sagicor’s recent commitment and donation of US$1Million
to support COVID-19 containment and treatment efforts in the communities in which it
operates.
Jannou Credit Union closed until further notice
The Management of JANNOU Credit
Union wishes to advise our members that
as part of our COVID-19 response we will
not be opening our branches this week
from Monday March 30th until further
notice.
We especially wish to advise members to stay at home and to adhere to the safety protocols
especially social distancing and to follow the instructions from the Ministry of Health.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Manuel Otero - Director of the Inter-American
Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)
We are witnessing the spread of a new
pandemic in the 21st century. Now less
than four months since it first erupted, this
emergency is rocking the world.
This situation is having a greater impact on
economies that are excessively dependent
on one sector, such as tourism, petroleum
or agricultural raw materials. The structural,
long-term antidote to this is diversification.
Approximately 20 countries in the hemisphere
are net importers of food. Each year, the
Caribbean region alone draws a cheque for 6
billion dollars to feed 44.5 million people. The
situation calls for food security strategies and
greater efforts to increase self-sufficiency.
We must again reassess the role of family
farmers, who, ironically, although pivotal
in ensuring food self-sufficiency, are the
adjustment variable in times of economic
uncertainty.
Our countries must increase the production of
major crops, while boosting their resistance
to drought, pests and diseases; and we must
be increasingly rigorous about controlling the
indiscriminate use of certain agrochemicals.
The well-being and food security of our
people are at stake, which means maintaining
the world order, as we know it. This situation
makes the delivery of effective and first-class
technical cooperation an imperative.
Manuel Otero - Director of the Inter-
American Institute for Cooperation on
Agriculture (IICA)

Banks are closed
this week.
Services offered
online
Republic Bank COVID-19 Care Package
COVID-19 Care Package - Personal customers
• Moratorium on all loans, including mortgages, up to a maximum of six (6)
months, will be available upon request
• Temporary increase on credit card limits on a case by case basis, upon request.
• Automatic waivers, until September 2020, on:
o ABM fees due to withdrawals from Republic Bank ABMs
o Credit card late fees and over limit fees
o Overdrawn account fees
o Late fees on loan repayments for customers who have not taken up the
moratorium offer
o Penalties for early withdrawal of term deposits
COVID-19 Care Package - SME, Commercial and Corporate customers
• Moratorium on all loans, up to a maximum of six (6) months, will be available upon
request
• Facility restructuring on a case by case basis
• Temporary increase of overdraft and credit card limits on a case by case basis,
upon request
• Automatic waivers, until September 2020, on:
o Credit card late fees and over limit fees
o Overdrawn account fees
o Late fees on loan repayments
o Penalties for early withdrawal of term deposits
For more information, please visit: https://www.republicbankanguilla.com/covid19
SERVICES OFFERED
• ATM dispensing of cash only
The following transactions will be fully
available electronically:
• Wire transactions /online
transfers
• Electronic payroll processing
• Processing of urgent temporary
credit facilities Services
NOT OFFERED
• All in-branch and face-to-face
transactions and interactions
• Night depository services
• Processing and clearing of
cheques
• ATM deposits
The Association wishes to emphasize that
while it will be closed to the public, it will
continue to facilitate customers’ banking
needs via email, telephone and online
channels to the extent possible.
Customers are also encouraged to avail
of alternative banking channels such as
mobile and online banking, and the use of
debit and credit cards.

Caribbean song writing camp concluded
successfully in Martinique
Artists and music producers from multiple OECS Member States successfully concluded
the Caribbean Song Writing Camp with the production of 27 songs and new partnerships.
The activity held in Trois Ilets (Martinique) from March 2-6, 2020 was implemented under
the INTERREG Trade Enhancement for the Eastern Caribbean (TEECA) project which is
coordinated by the Chamber of Commerce of Martinique (CCI Martinique) along with the
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), the Territorial Collectivity of Martinique
and the Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export).
Beneficiaries of the INTERREG TEECA project from Martinique, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines, Saint Lucia and Saint Kitts and Nevis met with artists and music producers
from Martinique along with Grammy nominated and hit-song writers from the USA and the
United Kingdom.
Participants completed a week-long exercise which aimed to foster collaboration and networking between artists and music producers in
order to create new songs.

Get a car or jeep rental from
Cool Breeze Car and Jeep Rentals
St. Lucia Youth
Business Trust
delivers programs
virtually
St Lucia Youth Business Trust continues
to provide training opportunities to young
entrepreneurs and startups.
www.coolbreezecarrental.com
World Bank: US$11.9M for Telecommunications
in the Eastern Caribbean
The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved additional financing of US$11.9
million for the Caribbean Regional Communications Infrastructure Program (CARCIP)
underway in Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
This financing will allow the completion of the regional broadband network as well as training
activities, business incubation loans, and implementation support.
The program has established undersea cables connecting the three countries and is rolling
out terrestrial fiber optics.
More than half of the office buildings in all three islands have been connected to the internet
and over half of schools are connected in two of the countries. With this additional financing,
schools in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines will be connected to internet services.
The ongoing CARCIP program provided financing in the amount of US$25 million. Of the
US$11.9 million approved, US$3 million will go to Grenada, US$4.1 million to Saint Lucia,
and US$4.8 million to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
These additional funds will cover financing gaps, including cost increases in infrastructure
construction and training activities.
In collaboration with the Caribbean
Development Bank (CDB), the Trust
successfully hosted a series of in house and
Community Based Training in September
2019. The CDB-Supported Regional
pilot venture entitled, “Strengthening the
Entrepreneurial Spirit of Caribbean Youth”
provides training and mentorship support to
young entrepreneurs between the ages of
18 -35 and startups.
In light of the COVID 19 virus and in an
attempt to mitigate its spread, the St Lucia
Youth Business Trust (SLYBT) has taken
a decision to discontinue all training and
activities to ensure the safety and well being
of everyone.
The training has however continued through
the use of technology with participants,
using the Zoom platform and sessions
continue to be very interactive. Participants
are fully engaged and are committed to
the program. The Trust seeks to deliver
Mentorship and Business Plan Development
using the virtual platform.
All interested groups and community
leaders, startups, young entrepreneurs and
anyone with a business idea to contact the
St Lucia Youth Business Trust1 @ (758)
720 3165 or email: slybtslu@gmail.com for
further information and training details.

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CALABASH TV
Regional business headlines – the CBR Aggregator
• St. Kitts PM imposes state of emergency – Read details here
• Caribbean future not so bright for oil and gas – Read details here
• St. Kitts stimulus package – Read details here
• Grenada’s state of emergency – Read details here
• Antigua port remains open for business – Read details here
• Martinique reports 15 new cases in 24 hrs – Read details here
• Major cruise lines could be left out of US bailout – Read details here
• Cruise ship extend sailing suspensions – Read details here
• Jamaica announces financial assistance programme – Read details here
• Trinidad government announces $1billion COVID-19 package – Read details here