SENIOR Minister responsible for Finance in the Office of the President (OP) Dr. Ashni Singh will be headlining the second ‘Regional Investment and Capital Markets Conference’ opening billed for the Pegasus Suites and Corporate Centre in Kingston, Georgetown.
Dr. Singh is one of five Caribbean officials who will be speaking at the conference. The other speakers are Dr. Marlene Street Forrest, Managing Director of Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE); Steven Whittingham, Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO) of GraceKennedy Financial Group, and Chairman of JSE’s Board of Directors; Angus Young, CEO of NCB Capital Markets Limited, and Gregory Fisher, Managing Director, Head of EM Fixed Income Wealth Management.
According to a press release, the minister is expected to examine the theme, ‘Budgeting: The Pillow for Success of People and Country’. His discussion will be crafted against the backdrop of the thriving oil production, spurring sharp spikes in exports and surging profits credited for helping the local economy swell by some 38 per cent in 2023.
It noted that the World Bank’s website stated that Guyana’s estimated resources stand at more than 11.2 billion oil-equivalent barrels, including an estimated 17 trillion cubic feet of associated natural gas reserves. It further predicted that Guyana’s economy is expected to remain one of the fastest growing economies with double-digit growth rates in 2023 and 2024 as additional oil fields begin operation.
“While, historically, Guyana’s GDP per capita was among the lowest in South America, extraordinary economic growth since 2020, averaging 42.3 per cent over the last three years, brought GDP per capita to over US$18,199 in 2022, (up) from US$6,477 in 2019,” the bank has said.
Additionally, the World Bank said: “Real GDP is estimated to have increased by 63.4 per cent in 2022, primarily driven by the expansion of oil production but also strong growth in the non-oil economy. The development of the O&G sector has allowed a notable scale-up of investment in infrastructure to support growth in other industries.”
The release emphasised that in 2022, Guyana’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 63 per cent when oil production soared to 278,000 barrels per day (bpd).
Meanwhile, Dr. Forrest will present an overview of the conference’s theme, ‘Financing for Success: Where Passion, Prosperity, and People Align”, while Young will discuss the topic, ‘Broker-Dealers: The Conduit for Businesses to Access Capital for Growth and Expansion’ when he makes his address at the conference’s opening.
Fisher is scheduled to address the joint Guyana/Jamaica stock exchange meeting where he will examine, ‘The Global Outlook: Positioning the Caribbean for Growth’ (The Global Economic Outlook), and Whittingham will focus on ‘The Power of People Aligned with Passion: The Mechanism to Achieve Prosperity’.
The joint Guyana/Jamaica stock market meeting will be held from October 8 to October 9, 2024.