WHAT'S HOT IN BUSINESS

INCREASED DEMAND FOR JAMAICAN GANJA

THERE’S an increased demand for Jamaican ganja on the global market.

That’s according to the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) which says it has been issuing export permits to territories as far away as Australia and Germany in recent months.

CLA says local cannabis is being sought for research and medical purposes.

It says 42 export authorisations have been issued to 10 entities trading with various regions of the globe. Since the start of the year, the authority says it has issued 19 export permits and has seen an increase in export permit requests by licensees.

Acting CLA head, Faith Graham said the increased activity indicates that Jamaica has been producing cannabis to the standards required of these other jurisdictions. She says there is potential for commercial quantities to be exported in the future once markets are opened.

The authority had created an Interim Export/import Policy allowing licensees to export cannabis and its extracts since 2018. Jamaica’s export regulations are at the final stages of being enacted.

FIRST ROCK TARGETS US$50M ASSET BASE

First Rock Capital Holdings is targeting an asset base of US$50 million by the end of the 2021 financial year. This as it furthers its expansion plans across the United States of America and the Caribbean.

Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Ryan Reid made the disclosure at the company’s first annual general meeting held in Castries, St Lucia, last week.

It’s a target the company initially expected to hit within five years of becoming a public company. It listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange in February 2020. However, Reid says they are looking to accelerate that plan.

Reid says First Rock will continue its asset diversification strategy in order to meet the goal. The company had realigned its focus to concentrate solely on real estate investments as it executes on new developments across the region.

The company has closed out the 2020 financial year with a balance sheet of US$35.82 million.

JREA CALLS FOR CONCESSIONS ON LITHIUM BATTERIES

The Jamaica Renewable Energy Association (JREA) is calling on the Government to formally classify various lithium battery storage technologies as photovoltaic batteries/accumulators or batteries to be used as part of a renewable energy solution.

The JREA said the inaccurate classificafication of the lithium batteries has attracted an additional 20% GCT on imports.

It’s calling for the batteries to be imported under the existing tariff code and afforded the same GCT rating as the long-standing tariff code for photovoltaic batteries/accumulators. Meanwhile, the association says stakeholders have also been challenged with an additional 20% duty from the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) Caricom external tariff.

It says the Government did not file the suspension application in time and has therefore recommended that the process for suspension be initiated up to 1 year in advance of the expiry date for the suspension, so that there is never a lapse in coverage.

JREA says the added costs may slowly bring the commercial and residential segment of the renewable energy market to a halt.