The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) has forged a partnership agreement with the Inter-American Development Bank through the IDB Invest program to provide financing for the expansion of the Muneshwers Group.Â
The agreement was formalized today at the Guyana Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown, in the presence of Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh; President of the IDB Group, Ilan Goldfajn; Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IDB Invest, James Scriven; GBTI Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Shawn Gurcharran; GBTI Business Development Manager, Rawattie Mohandeo; Muneshwer’s General Manager, Chandradatt Chintamani; and other representatives from IDB Invest and Muneshwers.
Expressing GBTI’s enthusiasm about the partnership, Deputy CEO Shawn Gurcharran highlighted the successful relationship between GBTI and IDB Invest.
He stated, “IDB Invest is collaborating with GBTI, a 100% Guyanese-owned and managed bank, to finance the expansion of the Muneshwers group, a locally successful and rapidly expanding entity. It is indeed a moment to celebrate as two Guyanese institutions have been able to successfully demonstrate that our capabilities and capacities are adequate to meet the expectations of IDB Invest.”
A statement from GBTI further elaborated on the significance of the collaboration, stating, “This collaboration today emphasizes the current economic development of our Guyana. Local entities can now pursue great opportunities that are present through partnerships with key international players for the betterment of all stakeholders.”
According to the IDB Invest, it will finance US$14 million for Muneshwers Limited to purchase two new gantry cranes for multipurpose cargo activities and to build a logistics warehouse. The cranes will be installed at Muneshwers’ Georgetown Port and will enable the company to double its cargo handling capacity by 2025, from the current 30,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit containers per year.
This operation includes a senior loan of US$10 million from IDB Invest and US$4 million from GBTI. It is Muneshwers’ second facility with IDB Invest, which provided a US$4 million loan in 2022 for the company to acquire its first mobile harbor crane.
Muneshwers is the shipping agent and terminal operator for the Maersk Line and Sealand (a Maersk Company), the largest shipping line in the world and one of the market leaders in Guyana. The shipping agency has over 20 years of experience in the shipping industry and caters to the import and export needs of the country’s business sector.
Muneshwers is also one of the founding partners in the Guyana Shore Base Inc. – Guyana’s premiere deepwater port facility, headquartered at Houston, East Bank Demerara.
