Two decades of reform made Guyana a credible investment hub

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, said Guyana’s emergence as a trusted investment destination was the result of decades of institutional reform and economic restructuring undertaken before oil production began.
Speaking during the closing discussion on day one of the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo 2026 at the Guyana Marriott Hotel, Dr Singh said the government had travelled “a long journey of strong policy effort” to build credible state institutions and create a hospitable environment for private capital. He was responding to questions from Ambassador Carlos Pascual, Senior Vice President, Global Energy at S&P Global.
Asked why investors placed trust in Guyana following the discovery of oil, Dr Singh pointed to sweeping reforms after the restoration of democracy in 1992.
“At that time we were spending more than 100 percent of government revenue on service of debt, and the sum of our debt was more than 600 percent of the size of our economy,” Singh added, noting that nearly two decades of reform were required to rebuild institutions and establish Guyana as “first a credible and then an attractive destination for investment.”
He said companies such as ExxonMobil entered Guyana not only because of oil prospects, but because of the broader policy framework that supported foreign and domestic investment.
“You’re witnessing transformation that is happening at a pace that has perhaps never been seen before,” Singh said, citing average real economic growth of about 35 per cent annually over the past five years, with non-oil growth averaging 11 per cent.
He added that the establishment of the Natural Resource Fund, Guyana’s sovereign wealth fund, has allowed the country to accumulate savings sufficient to cover its total external debt, even as public investment accelerates.