Republic Bank opened its new $560M branch at Diamond, East Bank Demerara yesterday and was challenged by President Bharrat Jagdeo to become the conduit to help in selling Guyana’s vision abroad and bring in capital for projects that could transform Guyana.
The bank, with locations in countries throughout the region, is the second to open an office in the growing area, and the Chairman of its Board of Directors, David Dulal-Whiteway also said that branches on the East Coast of Demerara and Lethem are on the horizon. He said that the company is investing more because of their confidence in the economy and the great potential for Guyana’s future. “Expanding our network is one thing. Our number one priority, however, has always been reaching out to engage and uplift the communities we serve,” he added.
In noting the Bank’s regional presence, Jagdeo pointed out that it has tremendous knowledge of another market that Guyana is trying to break into, “a market for capital, expertise and technology knowhow as we move to implement our strategic vision for Guyana.” He said that the bank’s connection to Trinidad and Tobago can be vital to the development and the quick implementation of some of the huge projects that will have a transformative impact on Guyana.
Republic Bank, the President said, because of its expertise in the Trinidad market, has a special advantage over other banks in three “growth poles” in Guyana’s development. He identified these as an oil and gas industry here, the development of a Brazilian market and the potential for agriculture. The “growth poles” if implemented, Jagdeo said, could catapult Guyana into a new area of prosperity never seen before. He said that they have started to put the foundation in place and today, there is a stable and sound macro-economic environment in Guyana.
He noted the aggressive pursuing of capital through visits to capital-rich countries such as the Middle East, China, Brazil and Trinidad to get new waves of investment here. Singling out Trinidad, he noted that huge opportunities in Guyana often languish because of the lack of capital and the absence of a large private sector, and partners are needed from abroad particularly through equity and definitely through greater access to financing. “Republic Bank can be the conduit for channelling first of all the confidence that you have in Guyana, channelling back to that market which is looking for opportunities and then secondly helping us to structure the deals that will be part of this glorious future,” said the President.
He said that in a few months, Guyana will have its “first probably serious well offshore” and at some point, there will be an oil and gas industry here. Jagdeo said that Guyana does not have any expertise to develop this sector and monitor it the way it should. Some capacity building has started, he said, but in the first five years, the country will have to import every single thing that is needed, including service and capacity. The best place to do this from would be Trinidad because of the expertise that they have and the spin-off services would require financing, the President said.
The second “growth pole,” he referred to, is bringing Guyana closer to Brazil and expanding the market there and this is what Guyana is seeking to do. He said that Trinidad, with its aggressive manufacturing sector needs this as much as Guyana does to expand production, and they are looking to Guyana to be the frontier through which they will access the Brazilian market. The third growth pole, which could be critical to Trinidad and the Caribbean, is agribusiness and agro-processing, the President said. “We’ve gone right back to where we were before food prices escalated in 2007,” he noted.
He went on to say that Guyana has already started on the process of providing food security to region, alluding to some Caribbean companies moving to the Rupununi for large-scale plantation type agriculture. But financing is needed and Republic Bank could be very instrumental in providing this connection, Jagdeo added. He said that apart from retail banking “I also anticipate that Republic Bank Guyana could become this important conduit to… sell our vision abroad, help us to do that particularly in the markets where they are active and then also bring in the capital in.”
Earlier, he had alluded to the economic environment that investors seek and said that the National Budget to be presented tomorrow will not be an “election year budget.”
“We have enough confidence not to produce an election year budget in an election year, and largely because we need to send a strong signal that this country has turned corners and that there is and will be stability, at least in the management of the macro-economy even through [there will be] difficult periods or periods when one would expect that you will deviate a bit from the norm,” said the President. “We are programming a lower fiscal deficit in an election year.”
Managing Director of Republic Bank, John Alves said that they are committed to playing a role in making the vision a reality. Other Bank officials, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh as well as other officials were also present at the ceremony.
