Even as it works out addressing local content hurdles to tap into the local energy sector, Trinidad and Tobago conglomerate Agostini Limited plans to add to its over $3 billion in investments from two companies established here as it looks to also bring a number of the companies and international franchises it already holds in its home country.
After the purchase of some 17.2 acres of land aback the Houston/Rome area in 2018, construction is moving rapidly apace to meet the demands for warehouse and office spaces in the area.
“At present, we are a Trinidadian owned company so we haven’t reached the local content [requirements]. We have not dealt much with the energy sector per se as yet either. We have had some enquiries and the first thing they ask is for local content certification which we do not meet at this point in time. So we have not been concentrating on that side of the business at all,” Blaine Chee-Ping, Country Manager for both companies that are registered here, told Sunday Stabroek News in an interview.
“The Agostini group itself is probably the fourth largest conglomerate in the Caribbean. It also represents Starbucks in Trini-dad, which falls under Pres\tige Holdings Limited’s management and thus the bringing of Starbucks—a first store in Amazonia Mall. And we made a commitment to Starbucks to do seven stores in two and half years here in Guyana. But that is only a bite because we have big plans for Guyana… and here will only get better,” he added.
Chee-Ping explained that the company also has plans for establishing the American restaurant chain TGI Fridays.
Future investments outlook, however, does not stop there since the company plans to establish a local office for the American headquartered multinational conglomerate General Electric and says that pharmaceutical distribution and energy are other projects in the making.
“We have Starbucks, we have the KFC franchise, TGI Fridays, Linda’s Bakery and a few Prego Foods, which Subway falls under. So a few restaurants fall under Prestige Holdings. We don’t have the local franchise for some of them over here though, like KFC and Pizza Hut for instance. We have the TGI Fridays Chain for over here so we are looking for opportunities to come in with the TGIF Friday brand.
“We also have an energy company called Rostopetro. We are looking at ways to see how we can get them over here, to see how we can work and learn together…. but again it is looking for the correct and trusted people to partner with, so we can meet local content requirements and all of that. We can’t come in and try to do it on our own…so we need to try to find the right and trusted partner,” the Country Manager added.
With Agostini being one of the largest distributor of pharmaceuticals in the Caribbean coupled with its acquisition of Oscar Francois to amalgamate with Smith Robertson, and separately being the General Electric (GE) franchise holder, Chee-Ping explained that a Guyana presence would be imminent.
“We recently acquired Oscar Francois, which is the largest distributor for pharmaceuticals in Trini-dad and we also acquired another pharmaceutical company in Barbados as well. The Superpharm chain in Trinidad falls under the Agostini umbrella too, so we do a lot of stuff. We also represent GE and do hospital stuff as well. We have had a presence for GE products here but the support always came from T&T so now we are trying to see if we can put something on the ground locally so the support will be more readily accessible in Guyana,” he informed.
Guyana’s own DeSinco Trading already has a partnership with Agostini and distributes its foods here in Guyana. It is why the company plans to give to DeSinco some of its acreage to build another office.
“We own shares in DeSinco so on the northern part of the land, our intention is to sell that to DeSinco and put up a distribution facility for them,” Chee-Ping explained.
Another Guyanese, to whom Chee-Ping credits a lot of the work the company has done to date is Ramphal Persaud. He has been with the company from its inception and advises on works here. “It is me and Ramphal here but he gets so much done and I can’t thank him enough. You need someone who understands the culture, the people, to show you around and to know how you can serve the people; Ramphal is the man,” he said.
Developing fast
Agostini’s interest in Guyana grew when it four years ago created two companies here and purchased land in Houston. It rented a space in Eccles Industrial site from its DeSinco partner, as it worked out plans to build spaces to rent to smaller companies who could not afford purchasing land and building themselves at Houston. That land investment cost the company US $500,000. To build the structure that is currently on the property was about another G$1.3 Billion.
Overall, Chee-Ping said that over $3 billion has been invested in Guyana since the two companies were formed.
Chee-Ping said that when Guyana discovered oil and those discoveries increased, Agostini knew that it would only be a matter of time before there would be transformational development here, and it acted.
The Country Manager gave a synopsis of its coming and operations in Guyana. “We have basically two companies in Guyana. One is Agostini Guyana Inc., which is this one. We do interior construction products, just for the interior finishing of anything-offices hotels anything. We do ceilings, glass doors flooring, carpeting all sorts of stuff…the other company is called Agostini Properties Inc. That one owns the land in the Houston/ Rome area.”
“We purchased in December towards 2018. I guess we had the foresight but everybody knew that once oil was discovered the country was going to take off. When we bought the land we had no idea the highway would passing just be 20 feet from where we would be. All that was just bush. The intention, always was to have a presence in Guyana. We knew that the country was going to be developing fast. We knew, from experience that there would be a lot of new companies coming into the country and that there would also be a lot of startup companies coming into the country. So what we initially decided to do is what you see on the site right. It is a warehouse complex and it is geared mainly to the small startup companies,” he added.
The companies moved into the Eccles building in February of 2020 but plans were brought to an abrupt halt because of COVID-19. Agostini Interiors had already shipped seven containers with stocks of its interior outfitting products, which included drop ceiling, gypsum sheeting, and office furniture. “It’s kind of been up and down and not a lot of people know we are at the back here [Eccles Industrial Site]. We are doing some advertising but we have not yet had a steady flow of customers in and out. We do interior outfitting products. Anything for the interior of your hotel, your office, we could supply that. We have drop ceiling we have a line of office furniture and supply those. We do a lot of gypsum sheeting for walls. It is a new technology for Guyanese -the stud and trap metals,” he pointed out.
When the economy was properly reopened here after COVID-19 cases had dropped, Trinidad and Tobago still had strict measures so the Country Manger had to wait until those were lifted before returning.
But when he returned, work continued and the office warehouse space was completed in Houston and today it forges ahead.
There are 12 warehouses in the current building. Plans are now ongoing to build a replica but with increased square footage as companies have expressed interest in larger spaces.
“The warehouses are just 1800 square feet and they have a small office space of like 720 square feet and then downstairs there is kind of like a receptionist showroom area where they can display their products. Of the 12 warehouses, six of them have been rented out and we are having talks with people to rent the remaining. All of the rentals are Trinidad and Tobago companies, though Guyanese registered, all carrying Guyana INC. but TT Company’s .We had some interest from companies in Suriname, we have had interest from some companies in Guyana but no one outside of TT has signed on as yet for a warehouse,” he explained.
One of the companies does escalators and elevators, another is a specialist chemicals company which produces environmentally-friendly chemicals for the construction industry and offshore. Another tenant is a cargo consolidator, the other a freight forwarding company and most recently the Trinidad and Tobago brand Home Store, which also has opened at the Amazonia mall.
Of the total 17.2 acres property, the first project was built is on 6 acres. Additional space would be used to build the other set of warehouses but this time they would be some 4000 sq. feet each.
To execute building plans, the company submitted the necessary Environmental Protection Agency permits and got the approvals.
Chee-Ping said that while the EPA permit received “is very broad” and covers the businesses renting from Agostini, they screen companies because they are considerate of their tenants.
He explained that in one instance a sheet metal and roofing company wanted to rent but they had to decline because “we thought it would be a disruption to the other tenants”.
With a presence in the booming Houston area that has seen the establishment of several oil and gas and service companies, Agostini says that it has had interest from US majors Halliburton and Baker Hughes but has had to refuse those because of local commitments sought.
The company awaits decisions from its shareholders on expansion into other sectors in Guyana.
“At the moment we don’t meet the local content requirement and we are not pursuing it right now by any stretch of the imagination. Agostini is locally traded public company on the local stock exchange and to meet local content you have to give up 51% of your company to a Guyanese individual. I am not sure the shareholders are there. Any decision would be on Agostini’s shareholders on how they want to move forward,” Chee-Ping contended.
