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Granger admits to lack of foreign investment in Guyana
President David Granger has admitted that his government has not done well as it relates to
President David Granger
attracting foreign investments. Speaking to reporters at the Ministry of Presidency on Friday, the Head of State admitted that much more needs to be done in this regard.
“We have re-engaged the Chinese and the Canadians in the extractive industry, along with the Russians and the Brazilians.”
Granger said that a resolution in the territorial issue with Venezuela will help in augmenting this process. The President opined that once this issue is dealt with, the populace will see an upsurge in the number of persons and companies that will be at the ready to tap into this field.
Additionally, he said that the recent financial strife that has beset many countries across the world is not helping as well. He noted that China and a number of European countries, who have interest in investing in Guyana, have gone through perilous financial times and this has compounded the issue.
Granger asserted that because of this, there has been a low demand for a number of local commodities and the traditional areas of exports such as sugar, bauxite, timber and rice are becoming less appealing to foreign investors.
Granger noted also that sugar and rice are high priced and it is doubtful that new investors will be clamouring at the government’s door to invest in these fields. Further, the Head of State pointed to the fact that bauxite and timber are in low demand since the current crops of potential investors are looking for new, non-traditional fields.
Towards this end, he said that the country has to look at different areas to attract direct foreign investments. He believes that Guyana as a whole needs to recognize that we can no longer depend on the traditional sectors which are becoming less viable. He said that the sugar industry is in dire straits at the moment, and this will not be an attraction to persons who may have an interest in that sector. He stated that if resources continue to be ploughed into these areas this will not be investing wisely.
It is against this backdrop that he suggests that eco tourism is the new frontier that the country should be looking at to attract foreign investors. Granger believes that there is enormous potential in this area that can be tapped into.
The Head of State is also of the view that once investors are made aware of the potential financial benefits that can be gleaned, they will find it as an attractive option.
For this reason, the President believes that aggressive marketing of this sector will bring about a change and Guyana will start to see an upsurge in foreign investors that may want to invest here. That aside, the Head of State said that the administration is currently looking at engaging a number of potential investors to invest in various fields in Guyana.
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