Minister for Finance & Economic Development, the Hon. Roy McTaggart addresses the audience.
Minister for Finance & Economic Development, the Hon. Roy McTaggart, delivered a ‘state of the economy’ presentation at the Chamber of Commerce’s 2018 Economic Forum on Thursday, May 24.
The forum featured a number of lively panel discussions on policy issues and revealed a large reduction in Government debt by 2019, a call for more funding from Cayman Finance and several key updates as well as challenges for the tourism and real estate and development sectors.
The Minister was joined by a selection of leaders and experts from Cayman’s largest industries who discussed the challenges and opportunities their respective industries expect to face in the coming years.
“The Economic Forum provided members of the private sector with a free opportunity to hear from government and industry leaders as they discussed matters regarding the economy and its development,” said President Paul Byles.
“The private sector is vital to the growth of the Cayman Islands, and every so often it is important for us to take stock of where we are, understand our challenges and develop pragmatic solutions going forward”, said Mr. Byles
The afternoon began with President Byles delivering an update on the work conducted by the Chamber of Commerce in regards to its three-year Advocacy Agenda & Action Plan.
President Byles was followed by Minister McTaggart, who provided a comprehensive update on the Government’s fiscal situation and the state of the Cayman Islands’ Economy.
Minister McTaggart discussed the current and future state of the economy, indicating that the Islands’ GDP grew in real terms by 2.9% in 2017, with all major industries showing positive growth too. He also noted that the growth of the GDP also had a positive impact on employment.
“Given the estimated growth in GDP of 2.9%, there was a strong growth in overall productivity of the workforce by 1.8% in 2017. GDP per employee is estimated in real terms at $66,723,” he said.
Minister McTaggart also explained that total government debt will be reduced by almost 50% by 2019.
Click here to view Minister McTaggart’s presentation in full.
Tony Catalanotto (Treasurer, CIREBA) delivers the 'state of industry' presentation for the Construction and Real Estate Development industry.
Mr. Tony Catalanotto - Treasurer, Cayman Islands Real Estate Brokers Association (CIREBA) – delivered a presentation on the current state of the Construction and Real Estate Development industry.
Mr. Catalanotto emphasized the importance of the real estate industry to the Cayman Islands’ economy, identifying it as the third largest contributor behind Financial Services and Professional, Scientific & Technical activities.
In its current state, the real estate industry was described as a seller’s market, with the average sale price up by 34%. Mr. Catalanotto identified the Seven Mile Beach area as the market leader, with the average price of a property in this area rising from $1.34m in 2017, to $1.89m in 2018.
He noted that the surrounding areas of Seven Mile Beach were also performing well, but that the outer regions of the Islands were not enjoying the same buoyancy. He did, however, note that the Eastern District are poised for development, meaning there are opportunities available for developers.
Listing the key concerns or impediments to the future growth of the industry, Mr. Catalanotto noted that infrastructure deficiencies (e.g. lack of affordable housing, shortage of schools) could cause a problem, as well as delays in obtaining planning approval and tedious immigration policies. On the other hand, he noted that the revitalisation of George Town Centre could see a number of new and exciting opportunities to emerge.
Click here to view Mr. Catalanotto’s presentation in full.
After the presentation, Mr. Catalanotto was joined by industry experts Haroon Pandhoie (Director of Planning), David Johnston (President, Cayman Contractors Association) and Just Hower (Senior VP of Development, Dart Real Estate) to answer questions from the audience, and panel moderate Ben Meade.
The third presentation of the afternoon was delivered by Mr. Jude Scott, CEO of Cayman Finance, who talked at length about the Financial Services industry.
Mr. Scott began his presentation by discussing the importance of the Financial Services as the engine of the economy, noting how the industry employs 4,000 Caymanians, contributes over CI$300 million to the government’s revenue, and over US$1.5 billion to the GDP. He also noted how the industry contributes over $1.8 million per year to the training and development of Caymanians, and over $2.2 million to local charities.
Mr. Scott did acknowledge the international challenges that may impact the industry, such as being grey listed by the European Union, increased competition, NGOs, and the international media. However, he also identified opportunities for the industry also, such as Brexit, FinTech, and China.
Domestically, Mr. Scott noted that addition funding is needed for the industry to tackle issues such as regulation, policy making and legislation, and business development.
He noted how the Cayman Islands government currently provides CI$750k of funding to the Financial Services industry, whilst it also provides CI$20 million to the tourism sector, even though financial services has double the number of Caymanians employed.
Click here to view Mr. Scott’s presentation in full.
L-R: President Paul Byles moderates the Financial Services panel comprised of Dr. Dax Basdeo, Jude Scott, and Colin Robinson.
Jude was joined by Dr. Dax Basdeo (Chief Officer, Ministry of Financial Services and Home Affairs) and Colin Robinson (Deputy Chair, Insurance Managers of Cayman) for the post-presentation discussions, which were moderated by President Paul Byles.
The final presentation of the afternoon was delivered by President of the Cayman Islands Tourism Association, Mrs. Theresa Leacock-Broderick.
She began by providing some statistics for the industry, noting how air arrivals and cruise arrivals for January – April 2018 are up by 15.36% and 18% respectively in comparison to the same period in 2017. She added that, in 2017, the Cayman Islands broke the 400,000 threshold with a total of 418,403 visitors; an increase of 8.55% over 2016.
However, she noted that there were a number of current challenges that were critical to the growth and development of the industry, especially those of managing the services offered and the visitor experience that is necessary for growth.
Mrs. Leacock-Broderick identified the National Tourism Plan an essential tool in developing the industry, illustrating that it comprehensively address the challenges and opportunities it faces. The Draft Plan is in its revision stage following an extensive community input throughout all the districts and Sister Islands in March.
Whilst this Plan is necessary for the future of the industry, Mrs. Leacock-Broderick did note some challenges it faces. She said that the Plan would need to be integrated with other national policies and legislations, so implementing it would need government wide and industry wide collaboration.
L-R: Theresa Leacock-Broderick is joined on the tourism industry panel by Mark Langevin, Oneisha Richards, and Pilar Bush.
Other challenges Theresa identified included those regarding safety, crime prevention, public transportation, workforce development, and more.
Click here to view Mrs. Leacock-Broderick’s presentation in full.
Theresa was joined by Pilar Bush (Executive VP of Marketing and Communications, DART), Oneisa Richards (Deputy Director of International Marketing and Promotions, Cayman Islands Department of Tourism) and Mark Langevin (General Manager, The Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman) for the post-presentation discussions.
The Forum concluded with a networking reception, proudly sponsored by Cayman First, allowing the guests to discuss the day’s insights.
The Chamber would like to thank the Hon. Roy McTaggart for delivering the Forum’s keynote address, and the Ministry of Finance & Economic Development for their support of the event.
The Chamber would also like to thank Mr. Catalanotto, Mrs. Leacock-Broderick and Mr. Jude Scott for delivering presentations on their industries, as well as all other industry representatives who participated in the panel discussions.
The Chamber would finally like to thank event partners BDO, JN Money Services, and Cayman First for additional support.