ATTORNEY-GENERAL and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall has announced that the Government of Guyana has begun a wide-ranging review of Guyana’s Companies Act, with the goal of modernising the country’s corporate regulatory framework.
Speaking recently, Nandlall said the existing legislation, enacted in 1991, is no longer suited to the realities of Guyana’s rapidly expanding and evolving economy.
“It is against that backdrop that we have to bring changes to the corporate environment of our country,” he said, noting that both President, Dr Irfaan Ali, Vice-President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo and the Minister of Finance have already been addressing the need for reform. We are reviewing it comprehensively,” Nandlall stated.
He explained that the structure and scale of the corporate sector today bear little resemblance to that of the early 1990s, making legislative reform unavoidable.
“Thirty-five years ago, the Guyana corporate sector was radically different than it is now. The regulatory framework that governed a 1991 commercial economy in Guyana can’t be the same framework to govern corporate Guyana in 2025,” the Attorney General said.
Nandlall pointed to the significant growth in commercial activity and company registrations in recent years, arguing that governance standards must keep pace with economic expansion.
Among the key areas to be addressed in the review are protections for minority shareholders, stronger oversight mechanisms and greater transparency in corporate ownership.
“We are going to have minority shareholders’ rights being protected properly,” he said, emphasising that modern corporate governance requires safeguards for investors who do not control companies.
He also indicated that the revised legislation would allow authorities to pierce the corporate veil in cases of wrongdoing.
“We’re going to have the corporate veil being able to penetrate if there is fraudulent conduct,” Nandlall added while signalling tougher measures against abuse of corporate structures.
He further highlighted the need for robust beneficial ownership provisions, particularly in light of Guyana’s obligations to international transparency and anti-money laundering standards.
“We have to create robust beneficial ownership type provisions,” he stated.
According to Nandlall, the reforms are part of a broader effort to create a more sophisticated and resilient commercial environment capable of supporting continued economic growth.
“We have to make the commercial environment more sophisticated,” he said, adding that the review would also extend to capital-market infrastructure.
