‘Stick to it’ – Finance Minister reassures UK trade delegation Guyana open for business

As Guyana undergoes rapid development, the need for foreign investors is great. Even so, Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh encouraged a visiting United Kingdom (UK) delegation to persistently pursue new ventures in the tiny South American nation.

The trade delegation is in Guyana from Monday to Thursday scoping out new opportunities for investments and partnerships.

For Guyana’s Finance Minister, the world’s fastest-growing economy is rife with opportunity.

“It doesn’t matter what you are supplying, there is a demand for that here

“There is room for more to be produced- goods and services- in every single sector of the economy,” Dr Singh told the delegates gathered at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown on Monday morning.

The delegation includes several British companies exploring investment opportunities and fostering business partnerships with the government and private sector.

This sizable team in Guyana this week includes those working in the maritime, legal, shipping, procurement, and environmental sectors. There are also those involved in construction and civil engineering, security, and suppliers of specialist materials and equipment.

Guyana’s openness to foreign inventors is a point often articulated by the Finance Minister. He, however, emphasised that the government is keen on foreign investors partnering with locals and facilitating the transfer of skills and technology. Some of these partnerships are catered for in the country’s Local Content law.

But he also stressed that investors seeking opportunities must be persistent and undeterred by an unanswered phone call or unread email.

“There is so much more happening and the reality is that some things get prioritised.

“Those who have participated in previous missions and concluded transactions… I would venture to guess that the ones who completed, were the ones who stuck to it. They stuck to it and they got good transactions done,” the Finance Minister said.

The British High Commission in collaboration with the Caribbean Council, the British Chamber of Commerce (Britcham), and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry is hosting this UK trade delegation.