Guyanese President Donald Ramotar sought to woo Caribbean investors yesterday when he addressed the annual general meeting of the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce at the Hyatt Regency in Port-of-Spain."This is a good time for Caribbean investors to look south to Guyana," he said.Citing improved economic indicators, Ramotar told business people this is "the best time" to invest in Guyana because there are "still a lot of gaps to fill."
He said: "The groundwork for our recovery was laid in 1992 with the return of democracy to Guyana. I strongly feel that there is no possibility for us to have sustained social and economic development without having political democracy of which free and fair elections would be at the heart."
In the same breath, however, the president knocked the Caribbean for not being more vocal against what was happening in Guyana prior to 1992. Prior to 1992, Guyana had never had "free and fair" elections as violent riots would often break out during elections.
He said Guyana is an example of "what should not be done in the future when democracy is threatened in any part of our territories because I believe that, had not the region been so quiet about Guyana in the difficult days, we could have probably turned the economic corner well before the time that we had done."That notwithstanding, he said: "We have managed to restore our economy in a significant way."
Ramotar said Guyana is "an attractive place for investment" because it has enjoyed over the last 15 years "a stable macroeconomic condition" which is a prerequisite for foreign direct investment.
"Inflation was 3.5 per cent in 2012 and was contained to single digits over the last 15 years, with the exception of 2007 when the prices of fuel and food rose dramatically," he said, adding that the exchange rate has also been stable since 2009. He said Guyana's gross international reserves at the end of 2012 amounted to US$862.2 million, compared to US$123 million in 1991.
He said: "Our export earnings have grown. Last year it was US$1.4 billion compared to US$229 million in 1991. Our foreign exchange transactions amounted to US$6.8 billion last year compared to US$6 billion in 2011, US$5.1 billion in 2010, US$4.7 billion in 2009 and US$4.8 billion in 2008."So I think that we have a very stable macroeconomic situation, and I know that investors want to have predictability, and this offers the kind of predictability that we have in our country."