Guyana must move quickly to strengthen its competitiveness as neighbouring Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago ramp up development of their energy sectors, according to American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Guyana Executive Director Richard Leo.
Leo made the point while discussing the country’s investment climate and the evolving Guyana-US business relationship on the Energy Perspectives podcast.
He said Guyana’s rapid economic growth has created a highly competitive regional environment, requiring the country to look beyond its current investment successes and assess how it compares with other emerging energy markets.
“You’re in a very competitive environment with Suriname and Trinidad bolstering their energy sector,” Leo said.
Rather than viewing the competition simply as a challenge, Leo said Guyana should use developments in neighbouring countries to assess its own strengths and identify areas where it can improve.
He added, “I would sort of reframe it into how can Guyana remain competitive in this growing environment.”
He pointed to the speed and efficiency with which business and investment-related processes are handled as one area requiring continued attention.
While acknowledging that the Government has been making progress, Leo said Guyana should continually assess its business environment against what is happening elsewhere.
He likened the approach to a football player scanning the field before deciding where to move, stating Guyana needs to “take a step back” and understand the wider environment before determining how best to position itself.
For Leo, the objective should be to build competitiveness around Guyana’s own advantages rather than simply attempting to replicate what other countries are doing.
He said this approach is particularly important as the country seeks to attract more investment beyond the traditional oil and gas sector.
AmCham has identified several areas that could strengthen Guyana’s attractiveness to international investors, including modernising public procurement and improving the permitting process.
Leo also pointed to the potential value of a bilateral tax treaty, longer-term government bonds and continued development of the country’s credit rating.
At the same time, he said Guyanese businesses must prepare themselves to take greater advantage of the investment opportunities emerging from the country’s economic transformation.
Leo said local companies seeking partnerships with US firms need to establish a clear value proposition, maintain strong compliance systems and understand the business practices and legal requirements of their potential partners.
He identified healthcare, agriculture and infrastructure as areas where partnerships are already developing, with infrastructure seeing particularly strong activity because of the country’s expanding development needs.
Beyond attracting foreign capital, Leo said Guyana should focus on ensuring that international investment contributes to skills development, innovation and the growth of local enterprises.
He argued that companies should move beyond traditional corporate social responsibility programmes and consider initiatives that help develop talent, support universities and commercialise promising local ideas.
This, he said, could include companies sponsoring research and development or establishing revolving funds to help transform innovative projects into scalable businesses.
Leo also stressed the importance of economic diversification, emphasising the US-Guyana relationship should eventually see greater investment in areas such as agriculture and manufacturing.
He said a stronger two-way relationship, in which Guyanese companies also access US markets, would help broaden the country’s economic base and reduce dependence on a single sector.
As regional energy competition grows, Leo noted that Guyana cannot rely solely on its oil and gas resources to remain attractive.
Neermala:
The country must continue improving the investment environment, strengthening local businesses and leveraging its unique advantages to compete for capital, partnerships and markets.
