Business

By Rajendra RampersaudThe International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its latest December issue of the Survey Magazine pointed out that it is examining the policy option on a possible tax on the financial sector.

The protracted industrial dispute which has affected both the Kwakwani and Aroaima operations of the Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc.

The University of Guyana’s 2009-2012 Strategic Plan has cited limited resources for research and the low level of output as one of twenty-six “weaknesses” that continue to impact on its effectiveness, publicly acknowledging in the process a critical deficiency identified during its discourses with the private sector earlier this year.

GASCI (www.gasci.com/telephone Nº 223-6175/6) reports that session 334’s trading results showed consideration of $4,078,135 from 303,397 shares traded in 9 transactions as compared to session 333 which showed consideration of $423,563 from 35,075 shares traded in 8 transactions. 

… shipping charges account for 12.4% of cost of exports Freight costs as a percentage of the total cost of goods shipped from Guyana to the United States are among the highest in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a recent study conducted by the Inter American Development Bank.

-calls for ‘real development bank’ in Guyana Guyana’s open border policies that facilitate the uncontrolled importation of manufactured goods may have contributed to “a consistent decline” in the country’s Guyana’s manufacturing sector according to President of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA), Ramesh Dookhoo.

Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) Chief Executive Officer John Tracey’s presentation at last Monday’s Agricultural Risk and Insurance Symposium organized by the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the World Bank and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) could, in time, come to be seen as a landmark declaration on a long-sought closer relationship between commercial banks and the local agricultural sector.

Customer Service (7) By Jacquelyn Hamer Queues are a necessary evil of service provision in both the state and the private sectors.

Neutral Language The Bank of Guyana reported in its half-year report for 2009 that the performance of the manufacturing sector was stable during the first half of the year.

-says scrapping of distribution system underlines scheme’s chronic problems Pensioners will likely have to pay 20% of the bill for drugs under a new system the NIS is introducing from January 1, 2010.

Whistleblowers, persons prepared to provide verifiable information on corrupt practices involving funds allocated to countries for development projects by the Inter American Development Bank are to enjoy greater protection from the Bank under a recent major overhaul of its anti-corruption framework designed to protect funds allocated to receiving countries.

When Linden Online internet café and call centre was established, the goal was to enhance the technological capability of Region Ten residents through a unique customer service experience, equipment and the infrastructure and ambience that supports it.

–  too little support for crisis-ridden UG Guyana is lagging behind the rest of the region in terms of the relationship between the university and the business community and newly installed Chancellor of the University of Guyana Professor Compton Bourne has criticized what he describes as the “free-rider situation” that informs the relationship between the local private sector and the country’s sole institution of higher learning.

– high commissioner says his country also concerned with labour, environment policies The creation of strong rules that would encourage foreign investment by creating a more secure, transparent and predictable environment for Guyana and other regional investors in Canada and also for Canadian investors in Guyana and the wider region is among the important prospective benefits to be derived from a actualization of a Canada/Caricom free trade agreement, according to newly accredited Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana Francois Montour.

GASCI (www.gasci.com/telephone Nº 223-6175/6) reports that session 333’s trading results showed consideration of $423,563 from 35,075 shares traded in 8 transactions as compared to session 332 which showed consideration of $1,975,377 from 217,428 shares traded in 7 transactions. 

Local manufacturers are to attend a major Industrial and Trade Fair in Canada next year ahead of negotiations for the implementation of the keenly anticipated Canada-CARICOM Trade Agreement.

-GB&GWU acceptance of retrenchment option questioned Urgent mediation efforts are underway in an attempt to restore a condition of normalcy at the predominantly Russian-owned Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI) where a strike that has closed its operations at Aroaima and Kwakwani has escalated into a dramatic move by the company to de-recognize the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GB&GWU), the bargaining agent for most of the company’s 500-odd workers.

Air travel between Georgetown and Toronto will benefit from an immediate and significant boost with the introduction of a weekly, all-year-round service between the two cities, Stabroek Business has learnt that the new Sky Service flight which will employ a leased 757 jet is being provided by Sunrise International Travel, a Guyanese-owned, Toronto-based Travel company.

The various upbeat public pronouncements by Caribbean Community Heads of Government and by CARICOM Secretary General Edwin Carrington at the recent Commonwealth Business Forum in Port-of-Spain regarding the preparedness of the region to strengthen business ties with the rest of the Commonwealth raises some interesting questions about what we can realistically expect to derive from the forum.