First Republic Bank trade mission kick starts; aims to build strong cross-border business relations

The first Republic Bank Trade Mission to Guyana slated for today and tomorrow kick started at the Marriott Hotel, Kingston, Georgetown under the theme “Building Strong & Sustainable Business Relationships Across Borders.”

Business Executives and Leaders from Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, Suriname and Guyana were in attendance.

Business Minister, Dominic Gaskin speaking at the event assured that the country is open and ready for business and that the Government means business.

The minister went on to say that the forum offers the perfect opportunity to explore the relevant partnerships that can match local needs with knowledge, expertise and capital from a bigger pool of potential partners.

He noted that government is cognizant of the challenges in raising capital;the high cost and the stringent requirements through the formal banking system coupled with the under-developed capital market do not provide a full enough range of financing options for a well-diversified economy to take shape.

According to Gaskin Guyana is going places and investors are coming to explore opportunities, this is even as the Finance Minister announced during his budget speech that local investment has shown a significant decline.

However, the Business Minister said Government understands that a favourable environment needs to be created in order for businesses to flourish.

Meanwhile, delivering the feature address Republic Bank’s Executive Director, Roopnarine Singh said the bank’s goal is to ensure seamless experience throughout the jurisdictions, but acknowledged that much more needs to be done in this regard.

According to the bank the forum is intended to serve as a catalyst for realizing its vision of “Bridging Economies and Highlighting Synergies.” It was noted too that the trade mission initiative comes at a time of global and regional economic challenges.