HGP Nightly News – Guyana is riding a massive investment wave, and Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh says the numbers prove what the world is now seeing clearly: this country has become one of the hottest places on the planet to do business.
But while investors are racing in, international transparency watchdogs are sounding a firm warning: explosive growth must be matched by stronger accountability, tighter oversight, and institutions capable of managing the flood of money now entering the economy.
Speaking on the 2024 Bank of Guyana Report, Singh pointed to a sharp surge in foreign direct investment, arguing that global investors are seeing in Guyana what some critics continue to downplay: opportunity, confidence, and enormous economic potential.
The Bank of Guyana’s 2024 Annual Report said foreign direct investment jumped from US$7.245 billion to US$10.401 billion, a staggering 43.5 per cent increase. The report also recorded real GDP growth of 43.6 per cent in 2024, while non-oil GDP expanded by 13.1 per cent.
For Singh, those figures tell a clear story. Guyana, he said, is no longer a quiet player on the sidelines of the global economy. It is now firmly on the radar of major international investors.
And the investment rush is not confined to oil and gas. Singh said global energy companies and service providers, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, CNOOC, TotalEnergies, QatarEnergy, Petronas, Schlumberger, Halliburton, Baker Hughes and SBM, have either established or expanded their presence in Guyana.
But he stressed that the momentum goes far beyond petroleum. Agriculture, tourism and hospitality are also attracting serious outside interest. Singh pointed to branded hotel developments, including Four Points by Sheraton, and said more Guyanese investors and entrepreneurs are also choosing to live, work and invest right here at home.
“Clearly, the numbers speak for themselves,” Singh said, adding that the international investment community now views Guyana as one of the most attractive destinations for investment dollars.
Yet behind the excitement, a harder question is being raised.
Transparency International, in its latest country profile, said Guyana scored 40 out of 100 on the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index and ranked 84th out of 182 countries. The index measures perceived levels of public sector corruption, with lower scores pointing to higher perceived corruption.
The watchdog is not warning against investment. Its concern is whether Guyana’s public institutions are strong enough to manage the speed, scale and pressure of the investment boom.
Transparency International has repeatedly argued that large inflows of capital, especially in oil, infrastructure and public contracting, demand stronger disclosure rules, public scrutiny and anti-corruption safeguards.
It has also warned that corruption risks grow when oversight is weak, civic space is limited, media freedom is under pressure, and citizens cannot easily access information. In its 2025 CPI findings, Transparency International said anti-corruption progress can quickly become fragile without independent courts, free media and room for critical voices.
The organisation has previously pointed to Guyana’s oil sector in calling for the publication of public contracts, arguing that these agreements determine how national wealth is shared and should therefore be open to public scrutiny.
So while Singh’s message is that investors are voting with their money, the bigger test is whether Guyana can prove that this new wealth will be managed openly, fairly and in the public interest.
The numbers show investor confidence. The watchdog warnings raise the other side of the story: whether Guyana’s governance systems can keep up with the speed of its economic rise.
