Banks urged to expand credit line to encourage more persons into business

…Govt will continue creating environment for business growth – Finance Minister

As private sector and economic growth continues at a rapid pace, the Government has urged banks and financial institutions to continue expanding their loan portfolios, ensuring that much-needed capital reaches those with profitable businesses ideas anxious to join the business sector.

During the opening of Demerara Bank’s spanking new $485 million branch at Leonora, West Coast Demerara (WCD), Senior Minister in the Office of the Presidency with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh spoke of the record-breaking economic transformation Guyana is currently undergoing.
“Whether it be banks, malls, privately-owned hospitals, service providers. In every single sector of economic activity, whether it be public sector or private sector, we are witnessing a transformation of Guyana at a speed that has scarcely been seen in other place around the world, and at any other time in economic history.”
“We hear a lot about Guyana being the fastest growing economy in the world. But you just have to look around to see how rapidly the face of our country is changing, to understand what that economic growth means for day-to-day life,” he said.
Moreover, Dr Singh emphasised the Government’s commitment to continuing to create an enabling environment that would allow banks and other lending institutions to continue to provide capital to persons in the private sector. The Finance Minister also called for the continued expansion of loans, to those with good and potentially profitable ideas.
“Our Government’s commitment is to ensure that we maintain this extraordinary growth that we’re seeing, into the medium term. Our commitment is that we’ll maintain, not only the macro-economic, but the legal and regulatory environment that remains so essential in ensuring a well-regulated, well and soundly supervised financial sector, but one that is conducive to growth.”
“And I was pleased to hear Mr Dave recognise and I know he recognises and believes this and has been fighting to address this. The need for greater credit penetration. Because there are a lot of non-financial private sector operators out there, with very good bankable ideas. And they need a little bit of help to bring them into the bank. And to help them translate their ideas, into good, realised and profitable projects.”
Dr Singh recalled that only a couple of weeks ago, a brand new four-lane highway was commissioned along the East Bank of Demerara, prompting commuters to comment on the dramatic reduction in travel time between Diamond and Georgetown.
The Finance Minister pointed out that the conceptual vision for this project was being laid since President Ali was Minister of Housing and Water. According to him, this goes towards exemplifying that Guyana’s record-breaking economic growth is driven not by chance, but by deliberate policy.
“All of this transformation has taken place under Irfaan Ali’s presidency. You may wake up and think it’s the same village. The same Leonora. It’s not the same Leonora. Leonora has emerged in the space of two and a half years, to be a major centre of economic activity.”
“And that didn’t happen by magic or accident or by luck or chance. It happened because of deliberate policy choices that were made, deliberate decisions that were made by our President and his Government. And that story is being replicated throughout the country,” he further said.
It was only in October that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had released a report showing that Guyana will record 38.4 per cent of real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth this year, against a regional growth average of 2.3 per cent.
This was contained in their new Regional Economic Outlook report on the Western Hemisphere, to which Guyana belongs. But Guyana’s growth figures make a stark contrast to the 2023 average growth estimates for the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) Region.
According to the IMF, the LAC Region, with the exception of Guyana, will record just 2.3 per cent growth. It is even more glaring when the report zeroes in on the Caribbean alone. According to the report, the Caribbean, with the exception of Guyana, will experience moderate growth of 1.9 per cent in 2023.
Lending to those in the non-oil sectors have seen dramatic increases in Guyana, with President Dr Irfaan Ali revealing on Friday that credit to the rice milling sector increased by 59.2 per cent since 2020. He also revealed that credit to the agriculture sector grew by 34.9 per cent within that period, while credit to mining grew by 25.1 per cent, credit to the construction sector grew by 23.4 per cent and credit to the real estate sector, 21.8 per cent.