Minister Gaskin outlines measures taken to attract business investors

DPI, GUYANA, Monday, December 4, 2017

The Ministry of Business has been undertaking several measures over the last year to make Guyana a better place to conduct business and attract investments.

Today in the National Assembly, during the budget debate, Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, gave an update on the accomplishments of his ministry during 2017.

By the end of the third quarter of 2017, the Ministry’s Department of Commerce recorded an increase of approximately 20 percent in the number of import and export licences processed.  Minister Gaskin noted this is up 89 percent from 2016.

Meanwhile, GO-Invest has attracted close to 1,000 potential investors while hosting important trade missions from Brazil and Canada during the year.

At the end of October, GO-Invest executed 19 investment agreements valued at $23 billion.  Three of those were public sector projects with proposed job creation of 122, while the remaining 16 were private sector investments with proposed job creations of 850.

GO-Invest also facilitated training for local businesses in establishing joint ventures. The agency also facilitated the attendance of 23 businesses to expositions outside of Guyana and connected with over 44 local businesses with markets abroad.

Over at the Small Business Bureau, 831 persons were trained in various aspects of running a business and technical training. The Bureau also disbursed 40 loans valued at USD$758,753 during the same period. Additionally, 132 grants valued at US$170,923 were disbursed.

School students in fourth and fifth form also benefited from 100 grants valued at $30,000 under the newly introduced ‘In-School Entrepreneurship Programme’. The funds are for business students to turn their SBA projects into real investment projects.

The Guyana National Bureau of Standards provided technical assistance to over 740 businesses. The Bureau is also working on a National Building Code to raise standards in the local construction industry.

The Ministry has also been perusing various Doing Business Reforms including the development of a web portal to allow the public to access forms, statistics and information on procedures and requirements.

There is also an ongoing survey to develop a Business Confidence Index which will be used to identify the level of optimism or pessimism in the economy and propose evidence-based policies for enhancing the ease of doing business in Guyana.

 

By: Tiffny Rhodius

 

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