jwala rambarran : trinidad and tobago – reinforcing dialogue with the private sector feature address by mr jwala rambarran, governor of the central bank of trinidad and tobago, at the inaugural monetary policy forum with the penal / debe chamber of commerce, debe, 18 december 2013. * * * ladies and gentlemen, today is another historic day for the region of penal / debe. for the first time in nearly 50 years the central bank has ventured outside of its traditional comfort zone in port of spain, arriving at penal / debe to deliver its monetary policy message. i must, therefore, thank the penal / debe chamber of commerce for graciously agreeing to host our inaugural monetary policy forum. we intend to meet with other chambers of commerce across trinidad and in tobago to host similar events. i strongly believe that, especially in these unusual times, greater dialogue with the private sector is critical. such insights feed into the central bank ’ s understanding of the workings of the trinidad and tobago economy, and thus into our policy deliberations. equally important, these events allow the bank to explain the thinking behind its monetary policy actions and to account to the national community, who we are here to serve. so, why did we choose penal / debe as our first port of call? on reflection, the answer seems self evident. the region of penal / debe is demonstrating the type of self - sustaining economic growth that the entire country requires at this point in time. such economic growth is being manifested through both the expansion of existing companies and the creation of new ones. it reflects increasing confidence among businesses and entrepreneurs. as you drive along the ss erin road under almost every home is a small business, from furniture shops that i understand supply big furniture chains in port of spain, to large home town supermarkets. at least four new outdoor shopping complexes have been constructed in the community. the construction of one of government ’ s mega project – the uwi south campus – is expected to drive growth in the area, as government looks to create a second education city centred on this campus in the penal / debe area. construction of a metal industries company training facility on petrotrin lands a few miles away will also help generate technical and vocational opportunities in the area. this building – the nesc debe campus – opened in october 2012 year and has already graduated 72 students in it and autotronics. it is the only microsoft certified training facility in the country. and it would

jens thomsen : brief overview of the danish economy statement by mr jens thomsen, member of the board of governors of the national bank of denmark, at the meeting of the danish economic council, copenhagen, 5 december 2006. * * * developments in 2006 reflect extraordinarily high demand in the danish economy. the growth in demand will continue in 2007, but it is forecast that gdp growth will fall to approximately 2 per cent, leaving the rest of demand to be covered by net imports. this indicates that the danish economy is close to its capacity limit. higher wage increases are also expected. if the growth in demand for danish goods exceeds productivity growth, the pressure on the labour market will increase, unless the supply of labour is expanded. this labour requirement can hardly be met domestically, and it is difficult to judge how far sufficient resources can be provided from abroad. it is stated in line with danmarks nationalbank that even if the economy has become more flexible there is still a considerable risk of overheating. such overheating will, as stated, lead to significantly higher wage increases, and thereby an extended period of low growth. on this basis danmarks nationalbank has recommended that demand be curtailed. the economic council also recommends a tightening of fiscal policy.