West Caribbean Business Forecast Report Q3 2008

Content

• Bmi Ratings - West Caribbean
• Bmi Ratings - Brief Methodology
• Chapter 1: Country Reports
  • Dominican Republic
  • Political Outlook
  • Once, Twice, Three times A President
  • as Expected, President Leonel Fernndez Won A Clear First-round Election Victory on May 16 on The Back of The
  • Incumbent's Credentials in Reviving The Dominican Republic's Economy in Recent Years
  • Economic Outlook
  • Fx Intervention to Mitigate Inflation?
  • The Banco Central De La Repblica Dominicana Has Announced Measures to Intervene in The Local Currency
  • Market in Order to Help Offset The Pressures of Imported Inflation. with Rising Prices A Dominant Local Issue,
  • This Policy Could Have Important Implications for The Presidential Elections in May
• List of Tables
  • Table: Dominican Republic: Historical Data and Forecasts
  • Key Sector Outlook
  • Remittance Costs to Decline amid Slowing Growth
  • Although Full-Year Figures Have Yet to Be Released by The Dominican Republic's Central Bank, We Estimate That
  • Remittances Barely Increased in 2007 to US$2.79bn (from US$2.74bn in The Previous Year)
  • Jamaica
  • Political Outlook
  • Panic on The Streets of Kingston
  • The Government's Inability to Tackle Jamaica's Growing Violent Crime Problem Has Resulted in A Shocking
  • Murders in The January-April Period
  • Economic Outlook
  • Tourism Industry on Solid Growth Path
  • The Jamaican Tourism Sector Has, So Far, Shown Remarkable Resilience to The Slowdown in The US Economy and
  • We Expect The Positive Trends in The Industry to Continue
• List of Tables
  • Table: Jamaica Historical Data and Forecasts
  • Key Sector Outlook
  • Puerto Rico
  • Political Outlook
  • Political Instability Clouds Upcoming Election
  • with No Political Party Able to Take A Sizeable Lead Ahead of November's Ballot, Puerto Rico's Gubernatorial
  • Election Is on Course to Be An Extremely Close Affair
• List of Tables
  • Table: Puerto Rico: Key Figures in October Gubernatorial Elections
  • Economic Outlook
  • Recovery Still Some Way off
  • The Prospects of An Economic Recovery in Puerto Rico in Fy2008 or Fy2009 Are Looking Increasingly Doubtful
  • Due to A Worsening US Picture, Sluggish Domestic Demand, and Political Uncertainty
• List of Tables
  • Table: Puerto Rico: Historical Data and Forecasts
  • Key Sector Outlook
• List of Tables
  • Table: Puerto Rico: Medical Device Market Forecast
• Chapter 2: Country Summaries
  • Bahamas
• List of Tables
  • Table: The Bahamas: Historical Data and Forecasts
  • Belize
• List of Tables
  • Table: Belize: Historical Data and Forecasts
  • Bermuda
• List of Tables
  • Table: Bermuda: Historical Data and Forecasts
  • Cuba
• List of Tables
  • Table: Cuba: Historical Data and Forecasts
  • Haiti
• List of Tables
  • Table: Haiti: Historical Data and Forecasts
  • Netherlands Antilles
• List of Tables
  • Table: Netherlands Antilles: Historical Data and Forecasts
  • Turks & Caicos
• List of Tables
  • Table: Turks & Caicos: Historical Data and Forecasts
• Chapter 3: Special Report
  • Business Outlook for Global Frontier Markets
  • Growing Fast on The New Frontier
  • The 41 States That Bmi Examines in A New Report on Our Online Service May Make up Only A Small Slice of The
  • World Economy, but They Possess Characteristics That Will See Them Gain Importance in The Eyes of Investors
  • and Global Businesses over The Coming Years
• List of Tables
  • Table: Frontier Markets - Key Data and Projections for Top 10 Countries
  • Frontier Investment
  • Potential and Pitfalls
  • The Spectacular Macroeconomic Performance of Frontier Markets in Recent Years Has Been Matched by Mildly
  • Successful Efforts to Deepen Capital Markets
• List of Tables
  • Table: Gdp per Capita, US$ (in Order of % Increase)
  • Table: Diversity through Frontier Markets - Correlation Coefficients January 2004-April 2008
  • Table: Frontier Market Indices
  • Regional Overview
  • Laos
  • Neighbouring Economies The Key to Growth
  • Laos's Gdp Growth Has Been Boosted in Recent Years as Neighbours China, Thailand and Vietnam Compete for
  • Its Natural Resources. Gdp Expansion in 2007 Has Been Estimated at 7.6% and We See Annual Growth Remaining
  • above 7% for Our Five-Year Forecast Period
  • Yemen
  • Huge Potential, but Don't Bank on Gcc Membership
  • Markets Do Not Come Much More Frontier than Yemen, and, as Would Be Expected, There Is Huge Potential for
  • Development, with The Prospect of Eventual Gcc Membership Likely to Act A Key Investment Pull
• List of Tables
  • Table: Yemen Economic Activity
  • Democratic Republic of The Congo
  • Mining Industry to Drive Growth
  • The Democratic Republic of The Congo's Mining Industry Will Be A Key Driver of Growth and Is Likely to Attract
  • Significant Levels of Fdi, with Our Real Gdp Forecasts Standing at 8.3% and 7.9% in 2008 and 2009, Respectively
• List of Tables
  • Table: Democratic Republic of The Congo - Economic Activity
  • Cuba
  • Investment Prospects after Fidel
  • The Accession of A New Leadership Structure in Cuba Has Sparked Excitement That The 45-Year-Old Trade Embargo
  • with The US May Be Lifted and Cuba May Move toward Market Liberalisation
• List of Tables
  • Table: Cuba Macroeconomic Data and Forecasts
  • Mongolia
  • Minerals to Drive Economic Boom
  • Mongolia Is in The Midst of A Massive Resource-LED Economic Boom That Should Lift Gdp Growth into The Double
  • Digits and Underpin Robust Increases in Exports and Inflows of Foreign Investment Capital over The Long Term
• List of Tables
  • Table: Mongolia - Economic Activity