PriceSmart exploring investing in Guyana

From left are Brud Drachman, Executive Vice President, PriceSmart Incorporated; Andron Alphonso, the local contact;  Leon Janks, Board Member, PriceSmart; Minister of State,  Joseph Harmon;  Robert Price, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors and  David Price, President of PriceSmart Incorporated during the meeting. (Ministry of the Presidency photo)
From left are Brud Drachman, Executive Vice President, PriceSmart Incorporated; Andron Alphonso, the local contact; Leon Janks, Board Member, PriceSmart; Minister of State, Joseph Harmon; Robert Price, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors and David Price, President of PriceSmart Incorporated during the meeting. (Ministry of the Presidency photo)

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon yesterday received a courtesy call from Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of PriceSmart Incorporated, Robert Price as well as other Board members, who are in Guyana to explore opportunities for investment.

PriceSmart operates 40 membership warehouse clubs in 12 countries and one United States territory and is similar in operation to Costco.

A release from the Ministry of the Presidency said that Harmon, who met with the team during a break from yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, said that Guyana remains open for business and Government will continue to ensure that the right conditions are put in place to promote the country as an investment destination.

“I consider this to be important because anytime we have foreign investors coming to Guyana, we consider that to be an important enough event for the Minister to disrupt his usual schedule to ensure that you understand that we welcome investment in Guyana and that we fully support your investment. It is important enough for me to take time off from Cabinet to meet with you,” he said.

Price, in an invited comment, said that the company is cognisant of the fact that Guyana is poised for a prosperous future and as such, consideration is being given to the establishment of a location here. “We are very, very interested in exploring the opportunity of locating PriceSmart in Guyana. We have to do our due diligence but we hope we can eventually have a PriceSmart in Guyana. We have PriceSmart in the English-speaking Caribbean and we think that given the future prosperity in Guyana, that it is time to consider locating here,” he said.