Obey local laws, pay taxes, open bank accounts – Chinese Embassy tells nationals in Guyana

The Chinese Embassy in Georgetown on Friday called on Chinese nationals who operate businesses in Guyana to follow local laws and regulations, including opening bank accounts here. This comes on the heels of the Guyana Government announcing a slew of measures to stabilise the local financial sector, including the implementation of a new foreign exchange monitoring mechanism. Only on Thursday, Vice President (VP) Dr Bharrat Jagdeo assured that these new measures will not burden ordinary Guyanese or small businesses but will instead target loopholes that allow non-Guyanese entities, like the Chinese-owned supermarkets, to exploit the system and evade taxes. Against this backdrop, the Chinese Embassy on Friday issued a notice to encourage lawful business operations by Chinese-owned and Chinese-operated shops. In the missive, the Chinese Embassy reminded the local Chinese business community to ensure they “…apply for business licences, residence permits, and ID in accordance with the relevant laws of Guyana; open bank accounts; and conduct business activities within the scope permitted by the relevant law of Guyana.” Chinese businesses are also urged to standardise daily business practices. Specifically, the Embassy implored that they “…strictly control product quality; do not sell expired, unidentified-origin or counterfeit goods. Strictly adhere to relevant laws; do not engage in money laundering, smuggling, commercial fraud, or similar activities. Strictly comply with tax regulations; invoice customers accurately and pay taxes regularly; contribute social insurance for employees legally.” Additionally, the Embassy called on Chinese businesses to actively shoulder social responsibilities in Guyana, ensuring that they hire Guyanese employees legally and make positive contributions to local economic development.

Moreover, Chinese business operators are encouraged to “…cooperate fully with law enforcement inspections. Should you encounter unfair treatment, handle the situation calmly and rationally while gathering evidence to protect your legitimate rights afterward.” According to the Chinese Embassy, Chinese businesses should also enhance safety awareness and strengthen risk prevention. “Equip your premises with necessary security devices, minimise on-site cash reserves, and hire security guards if necessary. In emergencies, call the police immediately and seek assistance from the Chinese Embassy,” it told business operators.

Crackdown
During his press conference on Thursday, VP Jagdeo pointed out that the measures being rolled out by Government are aimed primarily at large-scale foreign currency users whose transactions are not always reflected in Guyana’s formal financial system. He cited cases such as some Chinese-owned supermarkets that import large volumes of goods without maintaining bank accounts locally.
“We’re not going to restrict Guyanese from purchasing foreign currency. In fact, we will make sure that we provide adequate amounts from the central bank to meet domestic demand. But we’re going to try to close the loopholes on some of those who have been abusing the system… For example, the Chinese supermarket that you are seeing, where most of these supermarkets don’t have a bank account. They don’t have a bank account, the owners don’t have a bank account, and they’re importing a lot of goods to sell in their supermarkets. How are they getting the foreign currency? So, closing these loopholes would allow us to collect more taxes from these foreign entities, mainly, who are operating here, or if they are using our foreign currency on credit cards to meet demand in another country,” Jagdeo said.

Slew of measures
On Monday, during a meeting with the heads of local banks, President Dr Irfaan Ali disclosed that the Government, through the Bank of Guyana, has injected a staggering US$1.2 billion into the local financial system so far this year – more than triple the amount provided in the entire year of 2024 – in an effort to meet rising demand for foreign currency. According to the Head of State, credit card clearances rose from US$91.3 million in 2023 to US$347.5 million in 2024. For 2025 so far, transactions have already reached US$252 million, even before the year-end holiday period. To deal with these pressures, the administration has announced a series of interventions that will reshape how foreign exchange requests are processed. Going forward, importers seeking foreign currency will be required to provide commercial invoices before their banks can release funds. Once goods arrive in Guyana, those invoices, along with bills of lading, will have to be submitted to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and to the commercial banks, ensuring that the shipments match the forex requested. If importers fail to comply with this documentation process, they will not be able to access foreign currency for future requests. To streamline verification, commercial banks will now be required to forward invoices and bills of lading to the Bank of Guyana, effectively creating a centralised clearing house that will monitor and reconcile all transactions.
The President also signalled stricter rules for credit card use. Commercial banks will have to ensure that personal credit cards are not being misused for large business transactions or for importing goods, which he noted was becoming a loophole in the system. Entities found to be inflating invoices or engaging in related-party over-invoicing with the intent of moving money out of the country will face penalties.
Additional safeguards will also be implemented at Guyana’s borders. Persons leaving the country with large sums of foreign currency will have to declare not just receipts from commercial banks but also the source of funds obtained from Cambios and other licensed dealers. Meanwhile, companies registered under the local content framework must hold local bank accounts and ensure that oil and gas service payments are remitted in foreign currency to those accounts. In a bid to promote transparency and discipline, a new single-window reconciliation system will also be established at the Bank of Guyana to ensure that records from commercial banks, the central bank, and GRA are properly aligned before any new foreign exchange request is approved. This measure is expected to close gaps that currently allow some companies to use duplicate invoices at multiple banks, creating artificial demand for foreign currency.