Foreign inflows to Guyana

By Rawle Lucas On In Business |
LUCAS STOCK INDEX LSI In week two of July 2012, the Lucas Stock Index (LSI) fell 2.27 percent. The decline was primarily as a result of a 16 percent drop in the stock price of Demerara Bank Limited (DBL). Banks DIH also declined by 0.62 percent. Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (BTI) and Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), the two other stocks traded this week, remained unchanged. As a result, the LSI lost momentum and now exceeds the yield of the 364-day Treasury Bills by about 14 percentage points.
LUCAS STOCK INDEX LSI In week two of July 2012, the Lucas Stock Index (LSI) fell 2.27 percent. The decline was primarily as a result of a 16 percent drop in the stock price of Demerara Bank Limited (DBL). Banks DIH also declined by 0.62 percent. Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (BTI) and Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), the two other stocks traded this week, remained unchanged. As a result, the LSI lost momentum and now exceeds the yield of the 364-day Treasury Bills by about 14 percentage points.

Volatility

There is much volatility in the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Guyana.  After increasing by 49 and 17 per cent respectively in 2007 and 2008, the flow of FDI to Guyana declined by eight and seven per cent in 2009 and 2010. The rise by seven per cent in 2011, though welcomed, is no exceptional accomplishment with respect to the inward flow of investment resources into the country. The US$165 million reported by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) as invested in Guyana last year merely reverses the loss suffered in the prior year. When juxtaposed to remittances (US$415 million)