Business

Volatility There is much volatility in the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Guyana. 

GASCI (www.gasci.com/telephone Nº 223-6175/6) reports that session 467’s trading results showed consideration of $8,075,409 from 368,139 shares traded in 12 transactions as compared to session 466 which showed consideration of $4,175,786 from 263,203 shares

Guyana’s annual rice production is set to exceed 400,000 tonnes for the second time in its history and according to Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) General Manager Jagnarine Singh the projected landmark is owing to a combination of circumstances, including the emergence of new, more productive varieties of paddy in recent years, the application of improved technology to the industry, significant improvements in drainage and irrigation and a more aggressive approach to rice cultivation on the part of the country’s 8,000-odd rice farmers.

Within a matter of weeks the way will be cleared for local small businesses to become members of the 122-year-old Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), a move that will help bring an end to the age-old complaint that the major business organizations in Guyana continue to be insensitive to the concerns of the private sector.

This is not the first occasion on which this newspaper has commented on difficulties relating to access to information on matters of business and the economy, which ought correctly to be placed in the public domain.

By Rawle Lucas Reluctance Guyanese are going through a catharsis brought on by the new distribution of political power and a growing sense that their new found influence will eventually break down the stone wall of corruption that was built under the previous administration. 

A Surinamese firm, Hurricane Steel is in Guyana for this weekend’s Building Expo and hopes it can generate interest in its pre-fabricated buildings in local housing and other areas of the construction sector.

Creating a modern, technically capable and efficient city is critical to an enhanced business culture in Georgetown, Chairman of the 2010 Commission of Enquiry into the operations of the Mayor and City Council Keith Burrowes told Stabroek Business in an interview earlier this week.

After 63 years of pursuing a routine of rising, dressing herself and going to the office, Gem Morgan-Eytle appears not to know how to turn off this protracted habit.

A local safety and health consultancy is collaborating with a Trinidad and Tobago counterpart to create a comprehensive service entity aimed at applying solutions to safety and health challenges in both the public and private sectors.

GASCI (www.gasci.com/telephone Nº 223-6175/6) reports that session 466’s trading results showed consideration of $4,175,786 from 263,203 shares traded in 15 transactions as compared to session 465 which showed consideration of $1,869,750 from 89,470 shares traded in 5 transactions. 

Efforts by Guyanese exporters to secure structured and reliable markets for locally produced goods in Canada will continue to be challenged by inadequate and unreliable air transport services and the need for local exporters to meet certification standards for food imports, according to Chairman of the Trade and Investment Committee of the  Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) Clem Duncan.

Even as the banking sector elsewhere in the region appears to be forging ahead with preparations for compliance with the new United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FACTA) there remains an inexplicable silence in Guyana on just how commercial banks will respond to the new law.

The Business Cartoon

Sincerity Recent news reports indicated that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday ended up approving staffing appointments and promotions of persons working in the office of the Auditor-General (AG). 

Local public and private sector entities seeking cost-saving energy solutions are expected to be among the invitees to a breakfast seminar being hosted by the Trinidad and Tobago-based firm Energy Dynamics Ltd on Wednesday July 4 at the Pegasus Hotel.

In the June 21 issue of the Stabroek Business we published an article (Women In Business) on The Gift Centre proprietrix Doris Lewis in which we gave her husband’s first name as John.

The French-owned company Amazon Caribbean Guyana Ltd (Amcar Guyana Ltd) is mulling an investment in the cultivation of around 3,000 acres of heart of palm to consolidate raw material supplies in order to satisfy the demands of what the company’s owner and Chief Executive Officer says is a growing demand in France.