– GO-Invest reports, despite some minor hiccups

FOR the first half of the year, the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) has enabled some G$12.5B in investments, but anticipates a “substantial and rapid increase” to this figure, as some G$95B in new projects are still in the pipeline.

The agency now expects over $107.5B in investments this year, although last year it projected investments totalling $154B for 2018, anticipated to create approximately 5,725 jobs.

Thus far, the G$12.5B in executed investments from the period of January 1 to June 30 have a potential to create over 434 jobs across the energy, agriculture, and services sectors.

“Those numbers reflect a bit of a slower start than expected. There are quite a few projects that are in the pipeline that we have been entertaining and facilitating discussions with,” Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Owen Verwey said at a press conference on Thursday.

He explained further that GO-Invest’s 2018 investment projections were assumptions based on opportunities and indications of interest in investment in several sectors.

However, many of those proposals are awaiting the agency’s approval, while others are at various pipelines of government agencies facilitating the due-diligence process.
Some of these investments lie within the areas of: Agriculture and agro-processing; forestry; oil and gas; and the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).

In providing an update, Verway said that in the first half of the year, there were issues with the allocation of agriculture lands which are now undergoing the due-diligence process.
On the matter of forestry, the agency had assumed that the Barama Company Limited’s decision to end its forestry operations would result in their concession opening up to other investors, eligible for fiscal incentives from the government.

“We subsequently learned that the concession was sub-divided into four lots: One for conservation and three for redistribution to other forestry operators,” Verway said, adding:
“Out of that, we expect to see significant amount of activities in the forestry sector coming to us.”

He told reporters that all of the foregoing are expected projects to be approved by the end of the year or early 2019.

Meanwhile, with regards to GuySuCo, the CEO said: “There was a lot of discussion on GuySuCo in 2017, so our expectation was that one or two of those estates would be at an advance stage of privatisation by this time; we would have had an application for processing in the first half of 2018, but we’re now seeing that happening in the second half of 2018.

“So, it is happening, as we will see, albeit a few months later than we were anticipating.”
When it comes to investments in the oil and gas economy, Verway said that a number of service providers have accessed the services of GO-Invest for advice on commencing operations.

The agency now anticipates that multiple investments will stream in by the end of the year, as businesses begin to familiarise themselves with the requirements of the industry.
“We’re now seeing those primary contracts being awarded to the major subcontractors, and because of that, our office is now seeing the applications for the related incentives and the activities for land development coming through to us,” he said, adding:
“So, it’s a bit of delay in activity that causes our projections to show up this way. So, we’re seeing those coming through in the second half of 2018 or earlier in 2019.”

Meanwhile, of the G$12.5B GO-Invest has received thus far, 12 are local investments; five are foreign direct investments; and three are joint ventures between both foreign and local investors.

Foreign direct investments, he said, were dominated by the agriculture sector, although services, manufacturing and the information and communication technology sectors all recorded one foreign investment project respectively.

The projects included the manufacturing of pre-cast concrete construction materials, coco peat from coconut shells, and the cultivation of cash crops within the agriculture sector all at a total G$5.02B.

Over the same period, the joint-venture investment agreements totalled G$560M of investment in the local economy, most of which were in the energy and agriculture sectors.
Already into the second half of the year, Verway believes that with G$95B of new projects in the pipeline and a steady and growing interest of investors in Guyana, the country is headed in the right direction.

“We’re pleased, in terms of the interests in investing in Guyana that we have seen from the start of the year and at the continuous date. And, in addition to the many emails and inquiries, we’ve had over 500 walk-in visits to the office or scheduled visits by professional investors and exporters either looking for assistance or seeking various forms of activities that we can assist them,” the CEO said, adding:

“I think it’s good for the economy to note that the interest is very strong, and people are continuing to look into this direction still for investment opportunities.”