Marriott Hotel investor, Ramy El- Batrawi, says that he will be in Guyana next month to conclude paperwork for the US$90 million purchase deal.
However, local sources report that negotiations with the Egyptian-born businessman hit a snag when it came to areas of payment methods and concessions and government was “not budging” with its offer for what it believes is a “good” and “highly profitable” deal for both sides.
“I’ll be there in April to conclude paperwork… government was busy with Venezuela and all of that so there wasn’t the time,” El-Batrawi told the Sunday Stabroek when contacted.
Asked if the negotiations had hit a snag or if the deal was off, he was quick to reply, “No, the deal is still on; it isn’t off. I was supposed to come but because of the Venezuela [issues] that was pushed back. I’ll be there next month…,” he said.
Sources told the Sunday Stabroek that negotiations were “at a stall” because of matters relating to financing payments. Another source said that government would not yield to pressure to sell the hotel other than the terms set out in the agreement and that there were “no losses being incurred because it [the hotel] is making a profit there.”
Last December, El-Batrawi had told this newspaper that he was frustrated with the sloth of the transaction completion process.
“I am holding on for a long time; it is hurting future investments for Guyana.”
He noted that he had been waiting all the time and had then planned visiting here in January this year in relation to the closing of the contract.
Although he commended the Government for their works, he complained that the waiting process is tedious for the closure of what would be a simple contract.
“Dragging things out makes people lose interest”, El-Batrawi, who had the highest bid twice for the internationally-branded hotel chain, said.
The response from the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) on closing the deal has been slow, taking months to respond to simple queries, he had lamented. El-Batrawi said that this is quite frustrating since he has other investments he would like to pursue.
NICIL’s last word to Stabroek News which was last year, was that the matter was being finalised.
In 2022, El- Batrawi came here for the first time on an exploratory trip to figure out the best investment avenues. This led him to have talks with both the subject minister and the President at which point they told him about the hotel. An eager El-Batrawi wasted no time and entered the bidding process. “The Marriott is more like a trophy property and the government doesn’t need to own this type of property since it is bit of a distraction,” he said.
He continued, “In the United States we turn contracts around in weeks, latest two months.” He explained that after the bid was closed on the property, it was handed to NICIL to complete the process but “6 to 7 months later there is still no contract to close on.”
“They brought in attorneys that changed things which we agreed on prior… these attorneys are not deal-making attorneys but deal-breaking attorneys,” the Egypt-born US investor said.
A naturalized US citizen, he said that he was encouraged by a few reputable businessmen from around the world who encouraged him to consider Guyana as a possible investment opportunity. “The Emir of Qatar even recommended Guyana,” he said.
The investor explained that he could have started the upgrading process for the hotel if the deal had been sealed however this has set him back months and the time and money invested does not help either as ‘there are seven other hotels being built as well [and] the estimated revenue will drop.”
The businessman expressed his support for what has been described as the fastest growing economy but pointed out that the slow pace of doing business does not demonstrate the seriousness of Guyana and even more so the seriousness about doing business here.
He said that he enjoys helping developing countries with their development and made the decision to focus on Guyana. He also has plans to help with the building of modular homes but the approval for lands to complete these projects has also been one that is slow.
Concerning his plans to develop the Marriott Hotel, he disclosed his intention to add a casino and a tower along with modernising the interior design, bringing the Marriott-branded hotel up to standard.
El-Batrawi says he understands the possibilities that Guyana holds and working alongside the government to shape the dream is what he hopes to do but the process being stalled with the hotel is causing him to have second thoughts about continuing to wait for them to close the process.
