Barbados to perform poorly – IMF

(Barbados Nation) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has crunched its latest numbers and concluded that this year Barbados will have the worst economic performance among 12 Caribbean countries.

And as far as 2016 is concerned, it will not be much better, with only St Lucia expected to keep Barbados company at the bottom of the growth projections list.

Three weeks ago the Central Bank issued its first quarter review, in which Governor Dr DeLisle Worrell predicted that the economy would grow by between 1.5 and two per cent “principally on the strength of tourism activity and further private sector investment of approximately $700 million”.

However, in its new Regional Economic Outlook for the Western Hemisphere, the IMF differed. It said Barbados’ economy would grow by no more than 0.8 per cent, and 1.4 per cent next year.