– Minister Ali tells Florida forum
Scores of business executives, investors, and other trade officials converged in Miami, Florida to be part of the Caribbean Trade Centre’s “Invest Guyana” Forum held last Thursday, with acting Tourism, Industry, and Commerce Minister Irfaan Ali telling them that Guyana is ripe with countless investment and unexplored market opportunities.
Ali, who was the feature speaker at the event, explained that Guyana remains one of the strongest economies in the Caribbean and Latin America, boasting on average a 4.5 per cent annual growth rate between 2007 and 2012, along with stable fiscal and macroeconomic policies. The minister stated that the Guyanese economy has outshone others in several areas, specifically in the creation of a conducive labour, trade, business as well as corporate environment. He emphasised that notwithstanding the rapid expansion of the economy, government has been able to maintain single-digit inflation rates as well as stable exchange rates through carefully crafted and implemented macro-economic policies.
Fiscal incentives
Ali argued that the country has been deemed one of the most attractive investment locations because of a myriad of measures, inclusive of its fiscal incentives, access to regional and international markets, adequate and expanding infrastructure, as well as the availability of a wide range of natural resources.
“Given the buoyancy of the domestic economy and conducive macroeconomic environment, it is not surprising that the country has attracted unprecedented foreign direct investment totalling US$1326.4 million between 2006 and 2012,” said Ali. “Domestic investment also expanded exponentially over the same period, as reflected by the growth in credit to the private sector which increased from Gy$30.6 billion in 2006 to Gy$82.6 billion during 2012.”
He said the fiscal incentives available in the country are aimed at attracting investment in the manufacturing, agriculture, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), tourism, and oil and gas sectors, while highlighting that investors can see themselves benefitting from zero customs duty and consumption tax on most plant machinery and equipment, zero customs duty and consumption tax on raw and packaging materials used in the production of goods by manufacturers and small businesses, and unlimited carryover of losses from previous years.
Minister Ali also told the Florida forum that investments can also have access to specific incentives and benefits in various sectors depending on the venture they wish to undertake, listing the fisheries, forestry, tourism, mining, housing, ICT, and agri business as examples. He said the consumption tax waivers and tax holidays are also part of the country’s investment regime.
Market access and opportunities
In terms of accessing markets and the availability of cheap inputs, Ali said Guyana has easy access to markets in Latin American and Caribbean – 33 countries with a collective population of 580 million individuals. He said the regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is estimated at US$ 4.9 trillion (at current prices), while its annual merchandise trade bill is approximately US$ 1.6 trillion – six per cent of the world’s total merchandise trade.
