CHAIRMAN of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Komal Singh, has said that the several initiatives undertaken by the government in recent years to support the private sector are fuelling investor confidence across the country.

The chairman made these remarks during a recent event where he stated that over the last four years, there has been tremendous development seen throughout the private sector.

He said, “The private sector, if you look at over the last four years, have invested over $2.5 billion and those numbers continue to rise. This is outside of the major oil and gas investment.”

Against this backdrop, the chairman stated that this is a testimony to the fact that the companies, not just the local ones but also foreign companies have a high level of confidence in the economy.

“That high investment-level confidence is coming straight from government initiatives and the role government is playing throughout the country in terms of supporting businesses and the private sector,” he affirmed.

He indicated that Guyana can have all the resources, but if there is not an environment that enables businesses to grow and thrive with little to no hindrance, the country will not be able to move forward easily.

With this in mind, he remarked that a country cannot properly develop if the government does not support the private sector, before emphasising that the government must be commended for that effort.

Further, Singh stated that businesses in Guyana should ensure they take advantage of the opportunities that arise.

With this, he encouraged businesses not to do it alone, but to try to find partners and consortiums to capitalise on the opportunities within the shortest possible time.

Singh stated that it is always good when local companies can find strategic business partners to bring themselves into an environment to meet the demand and the opportunities that exist in certain sectors.
Speaking specifically of the oil and gas sector, he stated that it is a critical one that looks for experiences and the necessary expertise before businesses can get into that sector.

“Seeing many of our local companies over the last few years, finding a strategic business partner, I think its very commendable to all of these small companies who are seeing benefits by creating these partnerships,” he said.