‘Guyana is the place to invest, come make money’ – Ashni Singh tells oil conference
Mar 03, 2025
Kaieteur News- Guyana’s Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh speaking at the recently concluded Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo reinforced the country’s status as a prime investment destination, urging global businesses to seize the vast opportunities available across multiple sectors.
Guyana’s Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh
Dr. Singh highlighted the nation’s rapid economic growth and strategic location as key advantages for investors. “So to come back to the question that I asked at the beginning, why Guyana and I know many of you probably know this already, and I’m not going to repeat anything that you’ve heard already,” Dr. Singh said.
He then outlined, “Like you’ve heard on multiple occasions, (Guyana is the) fastest growing economy in the world, fantastic location, connected to Brazil, next to Suriname, capital of CARICOM. The seat of CARICOM is at Liliendaal (Georgetown Guyana,) just about 10 minutes away from here.”
The senior minister went on to highlight that investing in Guyana comes with access to huge economic space, free trade agreements with many important trade partners around the world. “So there are a lot of reasons why Guyana and literally opportunities in every single sector doesn’t matter what you’re doing,” Minister Singh stated.
Further, the finance minister stressed that no matter the industry, there is a demand for products and services in Guyana, an expanding economy. “I say to people that it doesn’t matter whether you supply bulldozers, whether you supply hospitals or hospital beds or hamburgers and everything in between. It does not matter what you produce or what you supply, there is demand for whatever it is that you’re producing or supplying in every single sector, whether it’s agriculture, forestry, tourism, energy, in every single sector, opportunities abound in Guyana,” he said.
Moreover, Dr. Singh pointed to Guyana’s Local Content Act, which was introduced in 2021 to ensure local participation in the oil and gas sector. This law mandates that a portion of oil and gas sector activities be conducted with Guyanese nationals and companies, creating lucrative opportunities for local businesses.
“That act has carved out 40 areas where minimum percentages of business, minimum thresholds have been specified for the oil and gas sector to do business with Guyanese nationals and Guyanese companies,” the minister said.
He also noted that the government has created a Local Content Register which over 1000 on that register.
With over US$ 1 ½ billion business opportunities created for Guyanese businesses since the enactment of the Act, Dr. Singh told the gathering that the legislation provides a very strong incentive for partnership with.
Under the Act, 40 areas for services carved out for Guyanese businesses including rentals, supply of goods, accounting, catering and welding. Foreign companies wanting to operate within those areas are required to partner with local companies. However, the law stipulates that the Guyanese partner must have 51% or more beneficial ownership, among other benefits.
(‘Guyana is the place to invest, come make money’ – Ashni Singh tells oil conference)
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