While the law does not stipulate that foreign companies should make shares available on the Guyana Stock Exchange, General Manager of the entity, George Edwards, said this is an area that the country’s Government should give consideration to.
In an interview with OilNOW on Thursday at his Robb Street, Georgetown office, Edwards said if that happens, “Guyanese will then be able to participate in the ownership of those companies and benefit from the profit made by those companies.”
He was speaking in light of increasing preparations for the oil and gas industry and the potential influx of foreign investors.
He believes that if foreign companies, especially in the oil and gas industry, are open to such financial ventures, it can serve to improve the economic prospects of the population and allow Guyanese to actively participate as shareholders, in the way these companies operate.
Edwards said, “We expect that when royalties are being paid to the Government by these companies and the startup of other support industries for the oil industries that people will benefit and some people will get employment opportunities and more monies being paid to Guyanese people means that more money is spent and therefore, aggregate demands for goods and services and so the economy will grow.”
He is hoping that as the Government continues its negotiations with the big oil and gas companies that, “Maybe they can insist that these companies put some shares on the local market.”
Trading began on June 30, 2003 on the Guyana Stock Exchange and takes place weekly via word of mouth on the trading floor supported by an electronic limit order book.
The Guyana Association of Securities Companies and Intermediaries Inc. (GASCI) is a self-regulatory organisation registered with the Guyana Securities Council to carry on business as a stock exchange and an association of securities companies and intermediaries.
