UK dangles more loans to Guyana

Feb 28, 2024 News

Senior Minister in the Office of the President, with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh shares a handshake with UK Minster, David Rutley, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

…raises ceiling from £750M to £2.1B

Kaieteur News – The United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF) has revised its loan ceiling to Guyana from £750 million to a whopping £2.1 billion.

This comes within days of a US$150 million loan agreement with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and a new agreement with the government of Canada for a US$89M loan.

Visiting UK Minster, David Rutley, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) made the official announcement of the revised loan ceiling on Tuesday, during a press conference at the British High Commissioner’s residence, Bel Air, Georgetown.

He said, “UKEF’s mission is to ensure that no viable UK Export fails for lack of finance or insurance. We can help overseas buyers across the world [have] access to financial support they need to procure from the UK, unlocking the potential of the UK supply chain by making their bids more competitive.”

Rutley said the increased UKEF’s Country Limit/Market Risk Appetite (MRA) for Guyana represents nearly a tripling of support now available to the Guyanese market, and a reflection of the confidence that the UK has in the stewardship of Guyana’s economy by the government.

The UK financing will not only be available to government but will also be accessible to the private sector. The British Minister was keen to point out that government will be able to access competitive long-term financing for national priority projects for social infrastructure, health care, education, or transport and all other sectors with the exception of oil and gas.

UKEF provided €1.6 billion (euros) in 2022 for the construction of the new Pediatric and Maternal Hospital in East Coast Demerara. Rutley said he hopes that with the increased risk appetite, UKEF will be able to finance further projects, vital to this country’s development.

“My hope is for the UK to continue to partner with the government of Guyana to assist in meeting the development needs of this great country and take our bilateral relationship to even greater heights,” he said.

Also in attendance of the event was British High Commissioner to Guyana, Jane Miller, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Komal Singh, Chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce Guyana, Faizal Khan, Head of the Guyana Manufacturers Association (GMSA), Ramsay Ali and President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Kester Hutson among others.

Sharing brief remarks at the event, Minister Singh expressed strong appreciation to the UK for the announcement in the increased loan ceiling for Guyana. He said it represents a clear signal of the UK’s confidence in Guyana as a destination for British companies to invest in and as a place for British companies to do business with.

At the sovereign level, the Finance Minister said government will be taking advantage of the now available resources.

“We certainly intend to, at the sovereign to explore and pursue every available opportunity to make use of this facility…I want to urge the Guyanese private sector to avail themselves of this opportunity to access financing and this opportunity to do business with British companies,” Dr. Singh noted.

He said the institution has been a competitive partner, relative to export credit agencies globally.

Meanwhile, Regional Head of UKEF, Camilo Neira in an interview with this publication explained that businesses are required to provide at least three years of audited financial statements to tap the available financing. This means that the programme does not support startups.

He also pointed out that the minimum per transaction is £1 million (pounds). Neira said the £2.1 B is the general country limit and includes the sovereign transactions with government and the private sector and there was no specific amount allocated for either.

The Regional UKEF official said another requirement is for at least 20% of the transaction must be supplied by the UK.

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ceiling, increase, loan, UK, United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF)

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