Economy
Pension break rolls on after $400M fund ‘raid’
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Government is extending the freeze on mandatory pension payments until June next year to help ease the strain for employers and workers, as they continue to navigate the difficulties of the COVID-19 economy. Pension holders can no longer withdraw funds from their accounts, but officials revealed this week that more than […]
Inflation falling but food prices increase
(CNS): The overall cost of living fell by 1.6% in the third quarter of 2020 compared to 2019, but that doesn’t mean Cayman Islands residents are seeing prices come down in general, despite the economic challenges of COVID-19. While costs have declined in some sectors, when it comes to food and telephone costs, shoppers are […]
Over $400 million taken from pensions
(CNS): With just a few more weeks to go before the emergency pension fund withdrawal opportunity ends, Caymanians and residents have already taken over $400 million from their funds. Almost 34,000 successful applications were made to take money from pensions and over 71% asked for the full amount, which was $10,000 plus 25% of the […]
Gov’t to guarantee $millions in business loans
(CNS): The government has announced a new guaranteed loan programme to help prop up medium and larger businesses in the Cayman Islands through the current economic uncertainty. Finance Minister Roy McTaggart said it was to help businesses struggling to meet operating and capital expenditure and debt repayment or re-financing.
Imports plunge during lockdown
(CNS): The total value of imports slumped by more than 32% during the second quarter of this year when Cayman was under the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Despite the online shopping sprees during the stay-home order, buoyed by the pension payout during the last month of the quarter, all imports fell. Fuel imports declined in quantity […]
Pension payments paused until year-end
(CNS): The current holiday from the mandatory pension contributions by employers and workers in the private sector will now continue until at least the end of the year. However, the window of opportunity for people to access the funds they have in their pensions will not be extended and there will be no second go […]
$25M deficit better than expected
(CNS): Despite the uncertainty about the future economic fortunes of the Cayman Islands, so far public finances are doing better than expected. Government is now running at a monthly deficit of around $25 million but that is much lower than had been projected, according to Premier Alden McLaughlin. And with a line of credit about […]
2020 Census must wait for ‘normal’ year
(CNS): The Economics and Statistics Office has said that the national census, which had been set to take place next month, has been postponed, confirming comments by the finance minister that were previously reported on CNS. Because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Cayman Islands, the census, which usually takes place every […]
Hew: ICT and transport weakness are priorities
(CNS): The state of Cayman’s information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and public transport are priorities that government must address now to help business rebound in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Commerce Minister Joey Hew has said. The minister said that tackling these issues had already been on government’s agenda but it had to […]
Minister optimistic about 2021 recovery
(CNS): Finance Minister Roy McTaggart has predicted that the Cayman Islands’ economy will grow by 6.4% next year after the expected 7.2% decline in 2020, creating a v-shaped recovery. Speaking at the Chamber of Commerce 2020 Economic Forum on Friday, he said the growth estimates for 2021 were based on measures implemented by government to […]
COVID-19 recession could lead to tax
(CNS): Finance Minister Roy McTaggart has said that if the country runs out of reserves before the tourism sector and the world economy recovers, government may have to consider taxation. Though reluctant to use the word, he said that given the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, things could get very tough for the public […]
