THE newly announced American Airlines route from Miami to Guyana, the opening of the American Chamber of Commerce in Georgetown, and the commencement of a US$50M investment by a Canadian mining company all demonstrate what many Guyanese had long suspected: Guyana is open for business.

This perception is confirmed by record levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country. Some US$212M in FDI flowed into Guyana last year, led by investments in the bauxite and oil industries.

This figure is more than quadruple Guyana’s 2016 level of US$58M, bucking a wider downward trend in Latin America and the Caribbean, which saw overall investment flows decline by 3.6 per cent in 2017.

The energy sector accounted for nearly half of that investment, according to a report from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). That investment was driven by the rapid development of the Liza field, which is headed for production by 2020 and slated to bring in more than $4.4B in FDI during the development phase.
The signs of growing international interest, like the opening of the American Chamber and the new American Airlines route, are everywhere in Guyana, and are helping to create a cycle in which new investment leads to the development of new opportunities and access, driving even more investment.

American Airlines cited Guyana’s history, culture, and climate as part of its reasoning for the new route. No doubt, increased demand for flights from Guyana’s growing energy industry likely played a significant role in convincing the global airline that Guyana was a place it needed to have in its network.

Meanwhile, Anne McKinney, Vice-President for the Americas for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told Kaieteur News earlier this month that the American Chamber of Commerce in Guyana (AmCham) was formed to “catalyse and strengthen cooperation between Guyanese businesses and American business and facilitate two-way trade.”
Recent investment announcements also include a $50M commitment from the First Bauxite Corporation of Canada to begin construction on facilities to mine bauxite this year, according to the ECLAC report.

Guyana is also hoping to play a role in China’s widely touted “Belt and Road Initiative”, and the government is said to be assembling a list of priority projects, though it remains to be seen whether Guyana will truly need Chinese investment, considering the magnitude of future oil revenues.

More broadly, this kind of FDI can be transformational. Costa Rica has been widely acknowledged as an investment success story, a place where strong investor and contract protections have been paired with smart government policies to produce meaningful economic growth benefiting the entire society.

The Costa Rican government has long tried to aggressively seek out new sources of foreign investment, especially in high-tech manufacturing, services, and sustainable resource extraction.

As a result, FDI into Costa Rica increased from US$409M in 2000 to more than US$3.1B in 2016. The small nation now receives more than a quarter of all foreign investment into Central America, and enjoys low unemployment and internationally recognised healthcare and education systems.

FDI and oil revenues could lead to a similar outcome in Guyana. Already, foreign investment is increasing, thanks to stable economic policies, strong rule of law, respect for contracts, and the discovery of new resource opportunities.

Leveraging the revenues from those resources, by funding infrastructure and education projects, for example, could attract even more interest and investment from international businesses and, over time, can create better opportunities for all Guyanese to earn their livelihoods.