Home Top Stories PPP/C Govt attracted over 3 times more FDI in 2 years than...
…agri investments increased by 97% since 2020, other sectors’ investments skyrocketed
The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) that Guyana was able to attract in just two years (2021 to 2023) was more than three times the FDI that the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government was ever able to attract during its entire five years tenure in office.
This was revealed by President Dr Irfaan Ali in a broadcast on Sunday. According to the President, his Government since its return to office in 2020 has been able to bring back investor confidence in Guyana. And he cited the statistics to back it up, noting that when stacked against economic powerhouses in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), Guyana compares favorably in its ability to attract FDI.
“Foreign Direct Investment is what the outside world thinks of us. The attractiveness of a country as an investment destination. Between 2021 and 2023, FDI amounted to US$16.1 billion, more than three times the level reported under APNU/AFC, for the entire period of 2015 to 2020,” the President said.
“Just between 2021 and 2023, Guyana reported the highest FDI inflows in the Caribbean, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. Further, in 2023, there were inflows of US$7.1 billion. A 64 per cent increase over 2022, positioning Guyana as the 6th largest inward FDI recipient country in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
According to the President, the only countries that were ahead of Guyana were Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Columbia. Other countries saw less or even no new FDI for 2023, with Trinidad even losing investments according to the report. And while investments in the oil and gas sector have dominated, with United States (US) based ExxonMobil set to invest US$55 billion in Guyana by 2027, there has been foreign investments in other sectors such as mining too.
“This is the substance of our governance. When we came to the people in 2020, we promised 50,000 jobs. I’m only looking here at the sustained jobs. In every single sector we’ve surpassed the target of 50,000 jobs and we’ve been able to sustain 60,000 jobs,” President Ali said.
“I’m not even talking about the 10’s of thousands of additional jobs, that we are already training people for. That we’re investing in, through the tourism hospitality institute, the new nursing school, all of these schools add to the expansion of jobs in our economy.”
Private investments
During his broadcast, President Ali painted a picture of a private sector that stagnated and even regressed under the former APNU/AFC Government. For instance, he pointed out that tens of thousands of persons lost their jobs under the former Government, as Guyana’s private sector lost its productivity and its competitiveness went down, bankruptcy rates went up.
“Let us now look at private sector investments by every sector. And let us look at the last four years. And you will see the diversification programme and policies of the Government, how it is taking effect. Let us look at agriculture for example. In the mid-2020, when we came into office, to mid-2024, private investment in agriculture went from $12.6 billion, to $24.6 billion, an increase of 97 per cent.”
“That is the investment we’re making in Drainage and Irrigation, farm to market access roads, the support for our farmers. The confidence that has been instilled back into the agriculture sector. Look at manufacturing. Private sector investment in manufacturing went from $15.1 billion to $22.3 billion, an increase of 47 per cent.”
Another example the President gave was of the mining sector, which severely regressed under APNU/AFC and even saw an exodus of miners from the industry. However, from the PPP/C’s return to office mining went from $4.2 billion to $6.9 billion… an increase of 65 per cent.
All of these statistics are examples of significant growth in investments compared to mid-2020, when APNU/AFC was still very much in power. Other sectors that saw significantly more investments from 2020 to 2024 were construction ($10.6 billion to $20.4 billion), other services ($47.8 billion to $107.2 billion) and real estate mortgages ($88.7 billion to $140.2 billion).
“For the private sector to invest in each of these sectors, they have to have confidence in Government policies. They have to see sustainability. They have to see profitability. And as a result of these investments, tens of thousands of jobs in every sector have been created,” the President said. (G3)
