The Guyana Trade and Investment Exposition (GUYTIE) has been pushed forward to May 2020 – two months after it was expected to be launched. Organizers of the event have confirmed that the March 2020 election is one of the factors that triggered the delay.
Coordinator of the GUYTIE expo, Tameka Sukhdeo-Singh, told Guyana Standard that the impending elections were indeed taken into consideration because some of the investors were “concerned”. An official later told this publication that investors are “playing it safe” by not confirming participation until the conclusion of the electoral process.
Sukhdeo-Singh, however, denied this assertion by positing that investors will have to confirm attendance by February of next year. This eliminates the “wait and see” possibility.
She said that the additional two months will provide the organizers with more time to prepare, as the event is expected to be bigger than the expo’s inaugural launch last year, which attracted only local companies.
Next year will see the event being extended to include 150 local companies and 50 international ones.
The event will be held at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC), in Liliendaal.
Head of the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest), Owen Verwey told the media today that the exhibition will signal to both foreign and local investors that “something is being done” against the backdrop of oil and gas production.
Further to that, Verwey noted that the event will allow for successful partnerships between foreign and local investors.
President of the Guyana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer, welcomed the event. He said that GUYTIE falls within his organization’s mandate to promote trade fairs and promote business development in Guyana. He said too that the event will create the atmosphere for the discussion on how more Guyanese products can get out into the region and further afield.
