During ongoing parliamentary debates over the 2026 national budget, Suriname’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Entrepreneurship and Technological Innovation (EZOTI), Andrew Baasaron, has sounded a urgent alarm over the critically underfunded state of his ministry, which is tasked with driving the country’s long-term economic expansion, private sector growth and economic diversification.
分类： business
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Dominican Republic has six months to find oil in Berbice Block
Guyana’s Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat announced Wednesday that the Dominican Republic has been given a six-month deadline, requiring the Caribbean nation to launch on-the-ground oil and gas exploration operations in the country’s Berbice Block before the end of 2025. This timeline mandates that all preliminary site preparations and initial exploration activities get underway within the half-year window, closing a chapter of prolonged negotiations between the two nations.
The Berbice Block, a 3,300-square-kilometer exploration area predominantly made up of onshore territory, was originally held by a joint venture between Canadian energy firm CGX Energy and ON Energy. The partnership relinquished all rights to the block in 2022 after failing to meet exploration commitments, opening the door for new stakeholders to acquire the exploration license. In a recent bilateral agreement struck last month between government representatives of Guyana and the Dominican Republic, the block was officially reassigned to the Dominican state, with Guyana retaining majority ownership of the asset.
Under the terms of the finalized deal, the Dominican Republic’s state-owned national oil refining company Refineria Dominicana de Petróleo S.A. (Refidomsa) will hold a 10% non-operating stake in the exploration project. A key highlight of the agreement is that the Dominican side is not required to contribute any upfront capital investment toward exploration costs. If commercial volumes of oil or natural gas are discovered in the block, the Dominican Republic will secure long-term access to extracted hydrocarbons at preferential pricing, a provision designed to support the country’s energy security and deliver sustained economic benefits for its domestic market.
Industry analysts note that the agreement marks a strategic expansion for the Dominican Republic’s national energy portfolio, while also allowing Guyana to leverage international partnership to advance under-explored acreage in its onshore basins, complementing the rapid growth of its offshore oil industry that has turned the South American nation into one of the hemisphere’s newest major oil producers.
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Searches at Hadeed home, business
In a significant development in Trinidad and Tobago’s law enforcement landscape, prominent local entrepreneur Dominic Hadeed, owner of Blue Waters Products Ltd, and his wife were taken into police custody for questioning on Wednesday, following coordinated search operations at their private residence in western Trinidad and one of his commercial properties in Trincity.
According to insider sources familiar with the operation, a team of specialist police officers, including both plainclothes and uniformed personnel, first executed a court-authorized search at the couple’s Shorelands residence. During the search of the property, investigators seized a range of electronic devices, including multiple laptop computers. Confirmations from sources also indicate that personal electronic devices belonging to the couple’s adult children were also confiscated as part of evidence collection efforts.
Following the completion of the residential search, law enforcement personnel escorted Hadeed to his commercial business location in Trincity to carry out a second court-ordered search, a step that forms part of the ongoing, undisclosed investigation. As of late Wednesday, it remained unclear whether investigators seized any additional materials or evidence from this Trincity business site.
Later that morning, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) issued an official media statement confirming the operation. The statement noted that as part of an active ongoing probe, officers carried out search warrants legally issued by the Supreme Court of Judicature at sites in Westmoorings and Trincity. In the operation, “two individuals were detained and are currently assisting investigators with enquiries,” the release confirmed, adding that no formal charges had been filed against either individual as of Wednesday night.
In a careful clarification of protocol, the TTPS emphasized that the execution of a search warrant is a standard step in criminal investigation processes, and does not amount to a formal finding of guilt or wrongdoing on the part of any individual involved. The service noted that all actions taken by officers were carried out strictly within the bounds of local law, under explicit judicial oversight, and with full respect for the legal rights and reputational interests of every person connected to the probe.
The police service also urged the public and media to avoid premature conclusions about the case, noting that no judgment on the status of any individual should be made until the full investigation is completed and all evidence is evaluated through the proper legal due process. “As this matter remains active, no additional details can be disclosed at this stage. The TTPS remains committed to conducting all investigations with professionalism, fairness, and respect for the rule of law,” the statement added.
Speaking at a scheduled news conference at the Police Administration Building in Port of Spain hours after the release was issued, Assistant Superintendent of Police Owie Russell declined to share additional details on the probe, saying: “At this time, the investigation is at a sensitive stage, so we also as the TTPS need to be responsible as to what we put into the domain of the media and the public.”
When local media outlet Express visited Hadeed’s Trincity office Wednesday, day-to-day operations at the site appeared to continue largely as normal, with staff members entering and exiting the building on a regular schedule. A security guard on site told reporters he only learned of Hadeed’s detention through media reports. “It was shocking. I saw it online, but if you didn’t know about it, based on operations today, you wouldn’t have been able to guess (what had happened),” the guard said. Attempts by reporters to contact Hadeed directly by phone went unanswered as of late Wednesday.
Hadeed is one of Trinidad and Tobago’s most high-profile domestic entrepreneurs, with diversified business interests spanning manufacturing, real estate, hospitality and agricultural sectors. His public profile is most closely tied to Blue Waters Products Ltd, one of the country’s leading local consumer goods manufacturers. Beyond his business career, Hadeed has also been an outspoken public advocate for local manufacturing growth and national economic policy reform, and has received multiple industry awards recognizing his leadership. In 2015, he was named Master Entrepreneur of the Year by the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce, one of the nation’s highest honors for private sector leadership.
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St Vincent announces launch of Executive Air’s regional cargo Service – WIC News
On June 25, 2026, officials from Argyle International Airport (AIA) in St. Vincent and the Grenadines announced the official launch of a new regional air cargo service operated by regional carrier Executive Air. Hailed as a transformative infrastructure milestone for the island nation, the new route network is projected to unlock broad economic benefits across key local industries, from agriculture to tourism.
Executive Air’s new cargo service connects St. Vincent and the Grenadines to an extensive web of more than 30 destinations across the Caribbean, covering major travel and trade hubs from Anguilla and Antigua to the Bahamas, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Puerto Rico’s San Juan. Unlike limited existing cargo options, this dedicated service closes critical gaps in regional air freight connectivity that have long held back local businesses.
For St. Vincent’s core tourism and hospitality sectors, the service solves a long-standing pain point: reliable, timely access to imported specialty goods, from food and beverages to hospitality supplies. This is expected to reduce delivery delays and lower logistics costs for resorts, hotels, and restaurants across the islands, improving their ability to serve the growing number of international tourists visiting the region each year.
For local smallholder and commercial farmers, the launch creates what AIA officials describe as “massive export pipelines” that open up new international markets for Vincentian agricultural produce. Previously, high logistics costs and limited cargo capacity made it difficult for local producers to compete across the Caribbean; the new service removes these barriers, creating new income streams for farming communities and supporting the expansion of the island’s agriculture sector.
Overall, the initiative is positioned as a key driver of sustainable long-term economic growth for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, strengthening both the country’s aviation infrastructure and its cross-regional trade capabilities. Ahead of operations kicking off, AIA officials have issued a note of guidance for shippers: all customers looking to send freight should contact Executive Air directly before arranging shipments, as several destinations across the carrier’s network enforce unique requirements for incoming cargo that shippers must comply with.
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Antigua to Welcome Aman at Sea’s Luxury Yacht for Caribbean Debut
Ultra-luxury hospitality brand Aman is making a landmark expansion of its yachting division, naming Antigua and Barbuda the official starting point for its first luxury vessel, Amangati, as the brand kicks off its debut Caribbean cruise season in November 2027. The yacht is scheduled to dock at St. John’s, Antigua’s capital, to mark the start of its first regional operations after completing an introductory Mediterranean sailing season and a 13-night transatlantic crossing from southern Spain. Reservations for the highly anticipated 5- to 8-night inaugural Caribbean itineraries, which will run from November 21, 2027 through January 2, 2028, are now open to global travelers. The entire season will be anchored out of St. John’s, which will serve as the vessel’s official homeport in the Caribbean, with multiple Windward Island voyages set to depart directly from the Antiguan port. Upon embarkation, guests will set sail across a curated route spanning the Leeward Islands, Windward Islands, and Dutch Caribbean. The itinerary includes a dedicated full day at a Barbuda marina, plus stops at other top Caribbean destinations: St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Barthélemy, the British Virgin Islands, Sint Maarten, Saba, Montserrat, and Anguilla. Before reaching its Caribbean homeport, Amangati will wrap up its first Mediterranean sailing season with a transatlantic departure from Malaga, Spain. The 13-night crossing includes two intermediate stops: the Spanish coastal city of Cadiz and the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores, before the yacht makes its first Caribbean landfall in Antigua. The 47-suite Amangati is built to deliver the ultra-luxury experience Aman is known for worldwide. Every suite comes with private ocean-facing outdoor terrace, and the vessel boasts four distinct dining venues, a full-service luxury spa, dedicated wellness facilities, and a custom marina platform designed to support a wide range of on-the-water activities and water sports. Differentiating Aman at Sea’s itineraries from many standard cruise offerings, the brand confirmed its Caribbean voyages will prioritize extended overnight stays at ports and late departures, allowing guests more time to immerse themselves in each destination. Every itinerary will include hand-curated cultural experiences, local culinary explorations, and guided nature-focused outings tailored to the unique character of each stop. The inaugural Caribbean season will wrap up with a special New Year’s celebration hosted in Nevis, after which the Amangati will continue its regional cruise operations across the Caribbean.
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Economy : Monthly inflation up 3.4%
Inflation in Haiti has snapped the steady disinflationary pattern that defined the first half of the 2025-2026 fiscal year, with official data released in June 2026 showing a sharp acceleration of price growth in April. Monthly inflation hit 3.4% last April, a more than four-fold increase from the 0.8% rate recorded in March, pushing annual inflation up to 21.0% from 20.6% the prior month.
This sudden uptick in price pressures is largely driven by the ripple effect of rising petroleum product costs, which have pushed up transportation expenses and filtered through to multiple core categories of the consumer spending basket. Breakdown data from Haiti’s central bank (Banque de la République d’Haïti, BRH) shows that the transportation sector alone contributed 57.4% of April’s monthly inflation, with prices in the category rising 25.5% month-over-month.
Three key sectors account for the vast majority of Haiti’s current inflationary pressure: food and non-alcoholic beverages, transportation, and housing, water, electricity and other fuels. Combined, these three categories make up 94.1% of April’s monthly inflation growth and 80.1% of annual inflation. Other notable price increases in April included a 3.0% jump in restaurant prices and a 2.8% rise in housing and utility costs, while food and non-alcoholic beverages recorded a 2.2% monthly increase.
The reversal of the disinflationary trend that held between November 2025 and March 2026 marks a notable shift in Haiti’s economic trajectory, putting renewed pressure on household budgets already strained by years of elevated price growth. Looking ahead to the May to July 2026 period, BRH economists project that monthly inflation will gradually slow as the energy shock eases and fuel prices decline, a trend already observed in May 2026. The central bank forecasts monthly inflation will fall to 2.6% in May, 2.0% in June, and 1.7% in July.
However, the outlook for year-on-year inflation remains mixed, with BRH projecting the annual rate will tick upward to 21.6% in May and 21.7% in June before edging down to 21.3% in July. The full detailed inflation report for April 2026 is available for public download via the HaitiLibre official website.
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Signing of a private Haitian tourist complex project worth nearly $20M
On June 24, 2026, Haitian government officials and private sector developers signed a preliminary agreement to launch a nearly $20 million world-class tourist complex in the country’s northern coastal region, marking a key milestone in the nation’s strategy to expand tourism as a driver of economic growth.
The deal, formalized at a signing ceremony overseen by Haiti’s Investment Facilitation Center (CFI), was signed by Tourism Minister Stéphanie Smith representing the state, and Suze Maurice, the lead promoter and investor for the MAAJEWV project consortium, which brings together private stakeholders from both local Haiti and the Haitian diaspora. Structured as a public-private partnership (PPP), the development combines private capital investment with regulatory and customs incentives from the Haitian government, delivered through the CFI and Ministry of Tourism.
Slated for construction in Carénage, a coastal district of Cap-Haïtien, the MAAJEWV complex is tailored specifically to grow Haiti’s emerging business tourism sector, alongside catering to leisure travelers. The site will host 120 upscale accommodation units, ranging from bay-view standard rooms and business-ready executive suites with dedicated workspaces to luxury presidential suites with personalized concierge services. For corporate and large-scale events, the development will include a flexible 500-person convention hall suitable for international congresses, galas and product launches, plus three smaller technology-equipped meeting rooms for executive board meetings and industry workshops.
To enhance visitor experience and serve both international tourists and local clients, the complex will feature two themed restaurants serving a mix of local Haitian and international gourmet cuisine, a rooftop bar offering sweeping panoramic views of the historic Carénage neighborhood and the Caribbean Sea, and a full suite of wellness amenities including an infinity-edge pool, a modern fitness center, and a full-service spa.
A standout feature of the project is its commitment to sustainable infrastructure, a rare focus for large-scale tourism developments in the region. The resort will install a large photovoltaic solar array paired with industrial battery storage to meet a substantial share of its own energy needs, powering all lighting and energy-efficient air conditioning systems. To reduce strain on local municipal waste management services, the complex will integrate a source-separated waste system and an industrial composter for all organic waste generated by its restaurants. It will also operate an on-site micro wastewater treatment plant to process all effluent, with treated water reused for irrigating the property’s green spaces, alongside a built-in rainwater harvesting system to cut freshwater reliance.
Total investment for the project totals $19.8 million, with construction expected to take 24 months. If the timeline holds, the resort is on track to open to guests in the second quarter of 2028.
Beyond its core tourism offering, the development is projected to deliver significant social and economic benefits for the greater Cap-Haïtien region. During construction, the project will generate approximately 1,200 temporary and indirect jobs across local construction crews, agricultural suppliers, artisan producers, and tourist transport services. Once operational, it will create more than 350 permanent full-time positions across hotel operations, food services, and event management.
To date, no public visual materials including architectural renderings, 3D models, or full site plans have been released to the public. While the project has already secured all required legal and fiscal approvals, final blueprints remain confidential. This follows standard industry practice for Haitian tourism developers, who typically only release public visual materials once construction has commenced or marketing campaigns are set to launch.
For the CFI, the signing of the MAAJEWV project reaffirms the center’s long-term commitment to growing Haiti’s tourism sector, which has been identified as a strategic priority for national economic development. In a statement following the signing, the CFI emphasized that it continues to center tourism in its investment promotion work, recognizing the sector’s outsized role in driving national wealth creation, enhancing the profile of Haiti’s cultural and natural heritage, and boosting the country’s international appeal as a travel destination.
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Two Realities: Rising Incomes, Falling Earnings for the Underemployed
Newly released labor market data from Belize paints a complex, uneven portrait of the country’s economy in mid-2026, with aggregate growth masking deep hardship for a significant segment of the workforce. According to the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB), the nation’s average monthly income has ticked upward in recent months, a gain driven largely by growth in formal employment positions and a small overall increase in the average number of hours worked across the labor force. But a closer breakdown of the statistics exposes a stark divide in economic outcomes between fully employed workers and their underemployed peers.
Underemployed workers – defined as individuals who are currently employed but do not receive enough working hours to meet their financial needs or full employment expectations – have seen a dramatic collapse in their monthly earnings, SIB manager Christian Orellana confirmed in an interview with local broadcaster Paul Lopez. At the start of 2025, the average monthly earnings for underemployed Belizeans stood at $1,009. As of mid-2026, that figure has plummeted to just $603, representing a $406 monthly drop that has left this group significantly worse off financially than 18 months prior.
Orellana noted that the steep decline is directly tied to the core challenge of underemployment: underemployed workers are now working fewer average hours on aggregate than they did at the beginning of 2025, cutting deeply into their total take-home pay. The aggregate income growth recorded across the entire labor force, by contrast, is entirely fueled by gains in the formal sector, where expanded hours and stable positions have pushed the overall average income up by $27 per month.
The conflicting numbers have sparked new discussion among labor analysts and policymakers about what metrics truly reflect economic health in Belize. While headline employment growth and rising aggregate incomes are typically framed as positive economic indicators, the sharp decline in earnings for underemployed workers raises urgent questions about job quality, rather than just raw job counts. Many analysts argue that the diverging trends show that broad economic growth is not benefiting all workers equally, with marginalized members of the workforce seeing their financial stability erode even as the national headline numbers improve.
Full additional analysis of the SIB’s latest labor force survey findings is expected to be published in a subsequent newscast from the outlet. This report is a transcript of a televised evening news broadcast, with translated Kriol speech adapted to a standardized spelling system for the online publication.
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Labour Force Shrinks by 13,000. What’s Really Behind It?
In newly released labor market data from Belize, a seemingly contradictory economic trend has emerged: the national labor force has contracted by more than 13,000 workers over the 12-month period ending in June 2026, even as the official unemployment rate has edged downward. The findings come from the latest quarterly Labor Force Survey published by the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB), the country’s central statistics agency.
According to the SIB report, the national unemployment rate fell slightly from 2.1% to 1.9% over the survey period. But this small improvement does not reflect widespread job growth, officials explain. Instead, the falling rate is driven almost entirely by thousands of Belizean workers exiting the labor force entirely, rather than unemployed workers securing new positions.
Christian Orellano, the SIB’s manager of censuses and surveys, broke down the demographic shifts driving the contraction. The largest declines in labor force participation are concentrated among adults aged 25 and older, with two key groups accounting for most of the exit. Women between the ages of 25 and 34 have left the workforce in large numbers to take on family care responsibilities, while workers aged 55 and older have exited through retirement. These two demographic shifts have combined to shrink the overall pool of active workers significantly.
Diana Castillo, SIB’s director general, clarified the mathematics behind the falling unemployment rate amid a shrinking labor force. Unemployment is calculated as a ratio: the number of unemployed workers (the numerator) divided by the total size of the active labor force (the denominator). In this case, both figures have decreased over the past year, but the number of unemployed workers has fallen at a faster percentage rate than the total labor force. That mathematical shift produces a lower official unemployment rate, even without broad job growth.
The conflicting data has sparked debate among economic observers over whether Belize’s low official unemployment rate signals a genuinely strengthening economy, or if it is just a statistical quirk masking underlying labor market shifts driven by workers dropping out of active employment. Local news outlet will air a full in-depth breakdown of the survey findings and expert analysis during its 6 p.m. newscast the same day to address these questions.
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Elon Musk is No Longer a Trillionaire
Just two weeks after making history as the world’s first person to reach a $1 trillion net worth, Elon Musk has fallen below the iconic trillion-dollar threshold, driven by a steep correction in SpaceX’s publicly traded shares and new regulatory constraints on a large block of his Tesla stock.
Musk notched his place in the record books on June 12, when SpaceX’s long-awaited $75 billion initial public offering pushed his estimated total wealth to $1.1 trillion. In the days following the IPO, roaring investor demand sent SpaceX shares climbing, pushing Musk’s peak net worth to an unprecedented $1.45 trillion earlier this month.
That momentum has reversed sharply in recent trading. From its post-IPO high, SpaceX’s stock has tumbled roughly 31 percent, wiping out hundreds of billions of dollars in the company’s overall market capitalization and carving a massive chunk out of Musk’s personal fortune. The aerospace firm makes up the largest single share of Musk’s current wealth, so its stock volatility has an outsized impact on his net worth calculations.
The drop in SpaceX valuation was not the only factor behind Musk’s fall from the trillionaire club. Last week, the billionaire surrendered $7.1 billion worth of Tesla shares to cover exercise costs for stock options granted under his controversial 2018 Tesla compensation package. After a high-profile court battle over the approval of the package, the converted shares are now classified as restricted stock. Under the terms of the agreement, Musk will forfeit these holdings if he steps down from his role as Tesla’s chief executive before January 2028, meaning they cannot be counted as fully liquid, unrestricted assets in his net worth calculation.
As of market close on Tuesday, independent estimates put Musk’s total net worth at approximately $962 billion. Even with the decline, Musk retains his title as the world’s richest person by a substantial gap, with his nearest competitor trailing by hundreds of billions of dollars.
Market analysts have long pointed out that the vast majority of Musk’s wealth is held in equity stakes in his two flagship companies, rather than cash or liquid low-volatility assets. This structure means his net worth is extremely sensitive to swings in public market sentiment, with billion-dollar gains or losses occurring in days in response to stock price moves. Many market watchers expect further volatility in Musk’s net worth going forward, as both SpaceX and Tesla continue to face shifting investor demand and industry headwinds.