3,500 businesses asked for data to measure local economy
(CNS Business): The Economics and Statistics Office has begun its annual business surveys to measure local economic performance. Officials said about 3,500 forms for the System of National Accounts (SNA) and the Balance of Payments (BOP) surveys, which began Monday, have been sent to the business community. The information is necessary to collect comparative information for 2016, to help government and the private sector in policy-making and planning, as well as provide the global financial community with updated economic data on the country.
Owners and managers have until 12 May to fill in the forms and return them to the ESO.
The last SNA survey conducted in 2016 revealed that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) — a measure of the total value of goods and services produced locally — amounted to CI$2.62 billion in 2015 after adjusting for price increases, the ESO said in a release.
This represents an economic growth of 2.8% over 2014, the highest rate of economic expansion since 2007. The BOP survey shows that in the same year, the Cayman Islands received $1.78 billion from the export of goods and services mainly tourism, business and financial services against a total payment of $1.62 billion.
The forms have been emailed, mailed or hand-delivered to local businesses, government entities and non-profit organisations. The survey is designed in accordance with the internationally accepted standards issued by the United Nations Statistical Commission. The BOP survey is based on guidelines prescribed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Officials stated that all SNA and BOP survey returns are confidential as mandated by the Statistics Law and are exempt from the Freedom of Information (FOI) Law. The returns will be used exclusively for ESO’s statistical purpose. ESO officials emphasised that the survey results will be published in aggregate form only, with individual information remaining confidential.
All survey respondents are required to return a completed form by the survey deadline 12 May. ESO staff can help people complete the forms which along with other information are available at www.eso.ky. The ESO can be reached on 949-0940.
Category: Economy, Finance, Local Business
