Noting investment trends…
CHIEF Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-INVEST)  Mr. Geoffrey DaSilva has given the assurance that GO-INVEST will continue to work with the Private Sector to increase investments.
Meantime, he reported a significant growth in the number of projects in Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica). Reporting on investments in 2009 and plans for this year, at a press conference last week in the Private Sector Commission (PSC) Carmichael Street, Georgetown office,  Da Silva recalled that, during his recent Budget Speech, Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh alluded to several international documents which clearly outlined that Guyana is the second fastest growing economy in this part of the world.
Da Silva said also that the release of the Competitiveness Index and how Guyana compares, will show that, of 133 countries worldwide, this country advanced 22 places.
However, he acknowledged that many areas need a lot of attention.
Da Silva disclosed that, last year, GO-INVEST directly facilitated 457 projects, the largest number recorded.
“And we have all this data available for any of you in detail because we have quite a database that analyses what is going on and we have been commended, actually by the University of West Indies researchers, on the way we put together our information,” he said.
Da Silva said total investment value was US$111M or about G$22 billion and some of those projects are going to be invested over a number of years or rolled over.
He compared that with 2008, which saw US$168M invested and said his agency  has been tracking to see the trend as compared to 2009.
“We  looked at January and February to see if the number of projects are decreasing or increasing and what we have seen, so far, in mid March, is that we are going to, maybe, go over the figure of last year,” Da Silva posited.
He said that forecast includes investments in agriculture, light manufacturing and wood, services and information communication technology (ICT).
According to him, there is greater opportunity in the ICT sector, with the two fibre optic cables from Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company (GT&T) and the Government.
He said, based on an assessment, it is estimated that employment in the ICT sector could go as high as 9,000 people and GO-INVEST will be putting a lot of emphasis on it, as well.

AGRICULTURE PROJECTS
Da Silva said most of the growth is taking place in agriculture projects, which have significantly increased by 152 over previous years.
“I think that has to do with the drive by the Government, especially through the Ministry of Agriculture ‘Grow More Food’ campaign, the Agriculture Diversification Programme and the Competitiveness Programme,  etc,” he observed.
Da Silva said it can also be seen in services which relate also to what is happening in terms of the earning power of the population that has been improving.
He said, right across the country, one can see the development of better retail outlets of different types, like in Essequibo, Lethem and Berbice.
Da Silva said he had just been to Essequibo Coast where there are two new supermarkets, very modern and a massive one that will be opening, probably in the next two months.
He said GO-INVEST worked with 120 projects in the Services Sector last year, a large number of them in the Lethem area.
Da Silva said, in the Wood Sector, while the set target was not because of a little slump in the early part, due to the financial crisis and the drop in construction on American market, it has picked back up.
He said similar improvement can also be seen in light manufacturing and concluded: “So those are the main sectors where you are seeing a lot of activities.”
Da Silva said, overall, investment dollars dropped about 33 per cent in comparison to previous years.
“However, internationally, many countries experienced a decrease in investment dollars of close to 60 per cent or more. So, while we had a drop in  investment dollars, it was not as steep or as deep a decline as some other countries, including in CARICOM,” he emphasise.
Da Silva said it is significant that there has been a trend, over the last five to six years, of more and more investment projects being outside of Region Four.
“So, while the number of projects in Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica) continue to increase and the largest number of projects in the country are in Region Four, because the overall number of projects is increasing, you have a situation in Guyana now, where close to 65 per cent of investment projects are not in Region Four,” he explained.
“So you are going to be able to get a picture of what is happening in Guyana by only looking at developments in Region Four,” Da Silva said.
He said that is a very positive development and a key part of the National Development Strategy (NDS), dispersion of economic activities across the country.
Da Silva said his office works very closely with the PSC and the Regional Chambers of Commerce on those projects and initiatives.
For this year, he said the agency wants to continue focusing on working with investors both local and foreign, in the different regions.
“And the regions, in which you are going to see a lot of growth are, of course, Region Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo), Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) and Region Ten (Upper Demerara/Berbice), although Region Four will still have the largest number of projects,” Da Silva anticipated.

EXPANDING TRADE
He said GO-INVEST will work with the Private Sector on expanding trade and investment between Guyana and Brazil and look to continue expanding Guyana’s presence in the CARICOM market, to which this country sends about 26 per cent of its total exports.
“We would like to increase that even more as it is a very important and crucial market for us,” Da Silva said.
He said the Guyana trade point should be operational very soon, to help small businesses, in particular, understand what is going on in different markets, so they can seize opportunities in those markets.
Da Silva said GO-INVEST is also collaborating with the PSC and other private businesses on how they can diversify the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) base in Guyana, having worked on 155 projects last year.
“Just over half of those are related to overseas Guyanese; so the profile is that most of the FDI is coming from United States and Canada, followed by Trinidad and a few other CARICOM countries and another 21 countries but usually with one project each,” he outlined.
Da Silva said: “We are now working at how we can diversify otel the FDI base where we are sourcing investment from and we have someone, through the National Competitiveness Strategy Unit, who will be working with us this year in doing that.”
“And, as part of that, how we can further increase the number of overseas Guyanese who are investing in Guyana at present. We have seen that, last year, it was 84 projects in which overseas Guyanese invested and we would like to increase that even more,” he said.
Da Silva reiterated that GO-INVEST welcomes the partnership with the PSC, the Chambers of Commerce and other bodies, to work on how to increase investments and, in particular, exports to the present markets and to penetrate newer markets.