Foreign investors concerned over Trinidad and Tobago forex issues

Trinidad and Tobago’s challenges with garnering foreign exchange has made foreign investors think twice about buying into TT businesses, said panellists who spoke on Friday at the Amcham webinar on building investable businesses.

CEO of Jamaican-based investment company Sygnus Group, Beresford Grey said it had not invested in TT’s market, although it is very attractive.

“TT has a market that has the scale and the history, in terms of investment opportunities, that we want to consistently look at.

“At the moment we have not done any investment in TT to date and the main reason, to be brutally honest, is not for a lack of opportunity, but it is more to do with structural issues around FX that they don’t have a solution for.

“Other markets have a better solution. Once that structural issue looks easier to solve – and we are long-term investors – we will certainly be executing on the pipeline opportunities in TT.”

Central Bank figures show TT’s import reserves from February stand at $6.7 billion and its import cover at 8,2 months.