Third Quarter Economic Report for 2009 Released

"The 2009 Third Quarter Economic Report compiles all available economic indicators as at end of September 2009"

The 2009 Third Quarter Economic Report compiles all available economic indicators as at end of September 2009 and shows their percentage change since end of September 2008. Among the significant changes are as follows:

These and other key indicators suggest that annualized gross domestic product (GDP) in the first three quarters of 2009 contracted by 3.6%.

The indicators which posted significant declines are as follows:

?_ Merchandise imports fell by 18.0% largely due to reductions in building materials, transport and transport-related items, and manufactured items;
?_ Work permits declined by 9.5%;
?_ New company registrations plummeted by 39.2%;
?_ Mutual fund registrations declined by 4.4% to total 9,838;
?_ Total visitor arrivals fell by 3.8%, due to a 13.1% slide in air arrivals and a 1.9% in cruise passengers;
?_ The value of building permits dipped by 28.5%; and
?_ The property market suffered a steep decline as the value of property transfers fell by 40.0%.

On the other hand, the following indicators posted strong increases:
?_ Domestic credit by commercial banks remained robust, growing by 17.1%; and
Water production grew by 4.6%. Subscribe