WIPAY Caribbean has signed an agreement with remittance payment giant Ria Financial Services, expanding the WiPay network into over 150 countries.

Ria Financial is the second-largest remittance company in the world after Western Union. The agreement takes effect July 1.

However, Wipay CEO Aldwyn Wayne told Kalilah Reynolds Media that for the time being, it is only effective in Trinidad and Tobago.

The deal will allow someone in New York, London or almost anywhere in the world, to access WiPay’s network.

According to Wayne, a family member in the US could go into Walmart and send money directly into a bank account in the Caribbean.

The partnership also solves a problem for people in the gig economy, such as freelancers on websites like Fivver and Upwork, as well as small exporters. They can now get paid for their work directly into their Caribbean bank accounts.

The service does not require a WiPay account in order to receive the funds.

Sandals not afraid of Marriott

SANDALS Resorts says it’s not worried about the entry of Marriott hotels into the all-inclusive space.

Marriott added 19 all-inclusive Carribean resorts to its portfolio earlier this year, putting the company on track to be one of the largest global operators in the sector.

However, they’re not being viewed by Sandals as competition. Executive Chairman Adam Stewart told travel media company, Skift, that Sandals continues to do things differently.

Sandals currently operates 20 resorts and three villas across five brands in seven countries. They recently announced plans to add three new resorts in Jamaica.

According to Stewart, Sandals owns enough land across the Carribean to comfortably double its size.

Economy expected to grow 7%-9% in June quarter

THE Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) estimates that the economy will grow between 7 and 9 per cent for the current quarter ending June.

PIOJ Director General Dr Wayne Henry says this outlook is based on the start of the recovery process relative to the low output levels in the corresponding period of 2020.

It’s also based on the expectation that more jobs will come on stream.

However, Dr Henry says the projected growth will also depend on the relaxation of some COVID-19 containment measures.

Between January and March, the PIOJ estimates that the economy contracted by almost 6% largely due to COVID-19.

For the period, the goods-producing industries increased by 3% while the services industries declined by 8%.

Construction was the top-performing industry, growing 12%. Mining and Quarrying also recorded a 6 per cent increase.

For the 2021/22 fiscal year, growth is expected to reach as high as 8 per cent.

Entertainment sector reopening imminent

The resumption of entertainment events in Jamaica is expected very soon.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the Government will again meet with stakeholders to try and outline a plan to reopen the sector which has been closed for over a year.

Last week, the prime minister also announced new curfew times and other revised measures to manage the pandemic.

Beaches and rivers are open again and the numbers permitted to congregate for church services and weddings have been increased.

The stay-at-home measure for persons over 60 remains in place however, fully vaccinated persons are now exempt from this.

The quarantine period for fully vaccinated persons has also been reduced from 14 to 8 days.

Norwegian Cruise Line cancels home-porting plans

Norweigan Cruise Line has cancelled plans to home-port a vessel in Montego Bay.

Speaking on Taking Stock recently, Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett said the country was preparing to host the Norwegian Joy come August.

The arrangement was made in April when a US summer restart of cruise tourism seemed likely.

The cruise line, however, has since released a revamped deployment schedule as it continues to plan for its US home port restart instead. Cruise shipping in the US could now start as early as July .

The Norwegian Joy Jamaican home-porting itineraries included seven-day packages sailing out of Montego Bay, operating at 50 per cent capacity.

It was one of two cruise lines proposing itineraries to home-port in Montego Bay. Viking is the other.

MPC Caribbean buys solar plant in Dom Rep

MPC Caribbean Clean Energy has purchased a 33.4-megawatt solar park, Monte Plata, in the Dominican Republic.

The purchase was made on June 1 and is expected to be completed by September.

Earlier this year, the company bought another solar park in El Salvador.

MPC Caribbean Clean Energy says the Monte Plata solar park will help to prevent an estimated 1.7 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions throughout its lifetime.

Caribbean Foods launches Foska OatMilk

Caribbean Foods Limited (CFL) has entered the beverage market with Foska Oatmilk.

The plant-based milk is being produced by an overseas manufacturer.

Managing Director Christopher Ramson said the company intends to eventually bring production of the oat milk to Jamaica under contract with a third party.

The one-litre Foska Oatmilk costs just under $600 (US$4). It’s competing with popular almond milks, soy milks and other alternatives to dairy products on the market.

The cost of the investment has not been made public.

G7 global tax

TECH giants like Amazon and Google are among a list of multinational companies being targeted to pay more taxes.

This follows the historic deal announced on Saturday by the G7 group of advanced economies as finance ministers meeting in London agreed to battle tax avoidance by making companies pay more in the countries where they do business.

They also agreed in principle to a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15 per cent to avoid countries undercutting each other.

The deal could see billions of dollars flow to governments to pay off debts incurred during the pandemic.

The agreement will be discussed in detail at a meeting of G20 finance ministers in July in Venice.

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