… China ready to facilitate cooperation between companies of both countries – ambassador
Chinese Ambassador, Yu Wenzhe
The Guyanese business community has recognised innumerable opportunities for Guyana with China’s emerging economy. But the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) is dissatisfied with the level of trade and investment between the two countries.
“Despite a number of bilateral cooperation agreements entered into within recent times, the intended benefits of commodity trade and investment activities between our two countries are still way below expectation,” said GMSA President Clinton Williams.
This was during the association’s first fund-raising business luncheon for 2011, held on Friday, 29th January at Regency Suites, Hadfield Street, Georgetown. GMSA also used the event to offer businesses the opportunity to network and explore investment opportunities in and out of Guyana.
The association also revealed that, although Guyana’s imports from China topped US$80 million in 2010, exports to China totalled only US$12 million.
Regarding foreign direct investments (FDIs), Chinese companies have invested some Gy$1billion (US$50M), in Guyana, excluding investments in the bauxite sector, Williams said.
He further noted that although Guyana was one of the first Caribbean countries to initiate diplomatic ties with China, some decades ago, most of China’s investment initiatives in Guyana have been limited to government-to-government bilateral loans or grants’ projects.
He pointed to the Bel-Lu Clay Brick Factory, The Moco Moco hydropower scheme, and the Sanata Textile Mills. Some of the more recent projects include the Skeldon sugar factory, the Guyana International Conference Centre, Guyana Power and Light Transmission Line, and acquisition of roll-on/roll-off ferries.
The GMSA president articulated the possibilities for Guyana in enjoying preferential access to China’s huge market through specialised trade agreements. He noted that the local private sector should intensify its efforts to attract more FDIs from China to pursue additional lucrative business opportunities. Among the areas he identified are large-scale agricultural, agro-processing and value-added forestry ventures; value-added sugar production, such as ethanol and carbon fibres; and ICT development, such as medical transcription services.
Williams suggests the resuscitation of the Guyana/China Business Council in order to pursue these opportunities. The GMSA head also adjured that a team of Chinese entrepreneurs visit Guyana to assess potential opportunities, including collaborative relationships with members of the Guyanese private sector. He proposed, too, that a team from Guyana visit China to explore prospective partnerships in production and sales activities.
Win-win relations
While the GMSA president set the tone for discussions at the luncheon, the Chinese Ambassador to Guyana, Yu Wenzhe, delivered the feature address. He noted that bilateral trade between the two countries has grown by approximately 14 per cent per year from 2005 to 2009.
Although the volume of trade dropped by 20 per cent in 2009 — due to the international financial crisis — the ambassador said, the Guyana/China economic trade has shown strong resilience against the slow recovery of the world economy, and has recorded a fast rebound.
“Our two-way investment is growing steadily,” the Ambassador said optimistically, pointing to the interest Chinese companies have in investing in Guyana.
China has, to date, invested more than US$100 million in Guyana in areas including mining and forestry. “And there are some other investment projects currently in the pipeline worth more than US$1billion,” the ambassador informed.
The ambassador indicated that China has helped Guyana in its social and economic development, providing 40 aid funds in grants, interest free and concessional loans, and has also written-off nine mature debts.
Further, China recognises that the Guyana government has committed itself to pursue the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and to transform and diversify its economy with priorities in clean energy, construction, tourism, and information.
As such, the ambassador advised, “With advanced technologies and experience, Chinese companies could work with Guyanese friends to expand our mutually beneficial cooperation in areas such as finance, agriculture, clean energy, labour, mining and resources, and oil exploration, making new contributions to healthy and sustainable economic development for our two countries.” The Chinese embassy in Guyana, he assured, stands ready to facilitate cooperation, and to serve as a bridge between companies of both countries.
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