Enill urges local firms to invest in Guyana: 'Move now or lose ground’

TRINIDAD AND Tobago’s biggest regional trading partner may soon outgrow it.

That was the subtle warning behind former energy minister and ex-high commissioner to Guyana Conrad Enill’s remarks at a Rotary Club of Port of Spain West luncheon on October 1.

Guyana’s economy, he said, is advancing at such speed that TT exporters risk being left behind as the smaller neighbour turns its oil windfall into broader industrial power.

“We can find ourselves in Trinidad in a situation where, over time, the balance of trade between countries dropped,” Enill told the audience at Cascadia Hotel, St Ann’s.

“There's a gas-to-energy project that will reduce electricity costs by 50 per cent. Now, here's the problem with this: once this occurs, the products exported from Trinidad to Guyana's (power sector) will no longer be required.”

The economist by training and former chairman of NGC, who also served as a minister in the finance ministry under the Patrick Manning administration, had a message for TT’s business community: Guyana’s expansion is rewriting the regional economy, and TT cannot afford to sit out the change.

“Imagine, if you will, a country that only a decade ago was considered one of the poorest in its region.”

“Today, that same country leads the entire world in economic growth. That country is Guyana,” Enill said during a presentation focused on the merits of doing business with one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.

He noted that Guyana’s population of about 800,000 occupies a land space “roughly 45 times larger than TT,” rich in natural resources and fertile agricultural lands.

“Guyana has natural resources, fertile agricultural lands, bauxite, gold and extensive tropical forests, which cover more than 80 per cent of the country,” he said.

“It has one of the lowest deforestation rates in the world and 90 per cent of its forests remain intact.”

In 2024, Guyana’s economy grew by 43.6 per cent and is expected to expand by over ten per cent this year.

“Over the medium term,” he said, “growth of nearly 14 per cent annually is expected. These numbers represent a transformation story, and it is happening right here in our region.”

That transformation, he explained, is being funded entirely through oil.

“Guyana has, by contract, awarded ExxonMobil a licence to explore its oil and gas resources and to commercialise the resource for which the Guyana government receives taxes,” he said. “It is this revenue from oil that is being used to fund Guyana’s transformation. Oil is at the centre of this story.

“Production has reached nearly a million barrels per day, with new vessels on the way.”

Revenues flowing into Guyana’s Natural Resource Fund are being channelled into national development projects.

“They are financing new roads, bridges, housing, schools and hospitals,” Enill said.

“But the government is not only spending on infrastructure, it is also investing in free education, better wages, and cheaper electricity through the gas-to-energy project. These measures are deliberately laying the foundation for a diversified economy.”

He cautioned, however, that Guyana still faces the “historical implementation gap” and must now also meet global standards in energy, climate, artificial intelligence and geopolitics.

“Any business that goes into this space has to contend with all of these issues,” he said.

“But having said that, for investors and the business community, this means that there are opportunities not just in oil, but across multiple sectors.”

Enill identified infrastructure and construction as one of the most active areas.

“Guyana is building at a pace never seen before,” he said. “From highways to housing, from bridges to energy-efficient schools, the demand for construction, material, and skilled services is exploding.”

He said the government is racing to complete major projects by the end of the decade.

“The government believes that there is an opportunity that will close by 2030,” he said.

“They are trying to ensure that everything that needs to happen happens so that by 2030 … they would have accomplished what they set out to do.”

In agriculture, he said, Guyana “has the land, the water and the policy support to feed itself and the wider Caribbean,” highlighting hydroponic farming projects, poultry and hatchery ventures, and agro-processing.

“This is a sector that the government is deliberately expanding to reduce imports and boost exports,” he said.

On logistics and services, Enill described a fast-developing industry driven by expansion in energy, agriculture and manufacturing.

“Logistics has become an essential service,” he said. “Cold-chain facilities, last-mile cargo solutions, invoice financing for SMEs — these are real gaps that smart entrepreneurs can fill.”

Sustainability, he said, has become central to Guyana’s investment model.

“Businesses that align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and practise responsible business conduct will gain trust, credibility and access to international partnerships,” he said.

“In Guyana, sustainability is not a luxury; it is a business advantage.”

Local content, however, remains a sensitive issue.

“First of all, the local content regime applies to the oil and gas sector and only to items identified as being able to be procured by the locals,” he explained.

“Since 2021, as a result of this policy, Guyanese firms have secured more than US$1.5 billion in contracts, and there are more than 1,100 local companies registered, and nearly 70 per cent of the oil and gas workforce is Guyanese.”

He added that while the system has created opportunity, “loopholes are exploited by some firms,” and smaller companies still face “capacity gaps” and “calls for greater transparency.”

The Local Content Act, he said, is now being reviewed “to expand coverage, including sectors like trucking, and to strengthen enforcement.”

Labour shortages and high real-estate costs also challenge investors.

“If you decide to bring labour in, the cost of housing them, based on the real estate market, makes, in some instances, the project uneconomical,” he said. “Guyana’s real estate costs are out of this world because of the oil and gas sector and the foreign-exchange issue of dealing in US currency.”

Meanwhile, foreign companies continue to pour in.

“Foreign businesses are finding their way in Guyana,” Enill said.

“And therefore, there is no reason why you shouldn’t have business interests in Guyana.”

He cited TotalEnergies, Qatar Energy, Petronas, Power China, Kalpataru (of India) and several Canadian and US companies investing across energy, power, mining, logistics, technology and manufacturing.

He urged prospective investors to make the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) their first stop.

“Once you visit immigration and customs, your next stop should be Go-Invest,” he said.

“It’s the government’s one-stop gateway for foreign and domestic investment.”

The agency, he added, provides policy guidance, helps apply for fiscal incentives, introduces investors to local partners and ministries, and conducts trade promotion.

“A professional, well-resourced investment promotion agency helps convert interest into committed projects by reducing information asymmetries, cutting red tape, packaging incentives, and ensuring projects produce local economic spillovers.”

TT businesses, he reminded, already have a foothold. “Guyana is a major trading partner for TT goods and is among the top 30 imports over the past five years,” he said. “Between 2018 and 2022, TT maintained a favourable trade balance with Guyana, moving from $2.5 billion to $4.2 billion.”

He suggested trade missions have also proven successful.

“In March 2022, 21 local companies visited Guyana and participated in 75 to 80 B2B meetings, which resulted in 44 positive leads,” he said.

“This success was achieved because of relationships with the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association, the Guyana Revenue Authority, the Food and Drugs Department, and other agencies.”

But he again returned to the risks of complacency.

“Opportunities come with challenges,” he said.

“Investors must account for technical skills shortages, financing hurdles due to collateral rules, bureaucracy and delays – though reforms are ongoing – inflationary pressures, and the need for socially responsible practices.

“And of course, there’s the geopolitical risk, such as the border dispute with Venezuela.”

Enill relayed Guyana president Irfaan Ali’s call for regional solidarity.

“He (Ali) says that Guyana cannot succeed by itself; it has to succeed so that Caricom can succeed.

“The Caricom region is too small as a group to survive, and therefore we need to come together, develop what we have, see what is available to the rest of the world, and see what’s our impact.”