Economy

Trinidad and Tobago has earned a reputation as an excellent investment site for international businesses. A leading performer the past four years has been the booming natural gas sector. Tourism is a growing sector, although not proportionately as important as in many other Caribbean islands.

The economy benefits from low inflation and a trade surplus. The year 2002 was marked by solid growth in the oil sector, offset in part by domestic political uncertainty.

The 2002 to 2006 period has been marked with striking economic trends, high inflation fuelled by massive government spending on construction programs and massive growth due to high oil prices. The total GDP has doubled during this period and now stands near 90 billion US dollars. It is feared that, high inflation and a bubble economy created by high oil prices may lead to a crash if the bubble were to burst, fall in oil prices or natural disaster.

The three major banks are Republic Bank Limited, Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago Limited and First Citizens Bank.