By Kiana Wilburg
CEO, Guyana Energy Conference & Supply Chain Expo
The Caribbean region recorded an increase of 27.6% in Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) last year when compared to 2022, mainly driven by Guyana and the Dominican Republic. This is according to an August 8 report produced by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
In the case of Guyana, the report notes that FDI inflows totalled US$7.198 billion, a 64% increase over 2022. This positioned Guyana as the sixth-largest inward FDI recipient country in Latin America and the Caribbean that year.
“This increase can largely be attributed to growing activity in the oil sector, since the country has emerged as one of the new oil producers in the region, attracting considerable FDI inflows in recent years,” the report noted.
In 2022, Guyana was also a leading destination for project announcements, with an estimated total of US$13.543 billion allocated to seven projects, mainly in the oil, coal and gas sector. The picture was different in 2023, however, as just three projects were announced in the business sector, with the country attracting a total of US$14 million in investment.
Turning to the Dominican Republic, the report highlighted that it continued to attract record inward FDI in 2023 and even managed to surpass the historic high of 2022, with inflows totalling US$4.39 billion, an increase of 7%.
The service sector was the main recipient of these investments, accounting for 78% of the total and growing by 10%. In second place was the manufacturing sector, with a 16% share and 13% growth, while the natural resources sector experienced a 25% drop, albeit its share was a modest 6%.
In 2022, the Dominican Republic was the destination of some US$ 3.5 billion in FDI project announcements, spread across 30 projects. In 2023, while the number of projects fell only slightly to 26, their total value was US$ 1.839 billion, just over half (52%) the previous year’s total.
Among the most prominent sectors, renewables continued to lead project announcements in the country, with six projects valued at more than US$ 700 million in the aggregate, accounting for 43% of the total.
For Jamaica, the report said FDI inflows were 18% higher in 2023 than in 2022. However, the total amount, US$ 377 million, was below the average of the last decade, and the momentum of the pre-pandemic period has never been regained. Inflows were mainly concentrated in the service sector, which accounted for 85% of the total and registered its largest inflows since 2016.
For Belize, ECLAC said inflows were 65% smaller in 2023 than in 2022 at US$ 50 million, the lowest figure since 2017.
Meanwhile, Suriname recorded negative FDI inflows in 2023 for the third consecutive year, totalling US$ -54 million. This amount represented a 500% decrease from 2022.
In 2023, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) (Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) recorded an 18% increase in FDI inflows compared to the previous year.
Although these inflows exceeded pre-pandemic levels, the report said they were still below the record high of 2021. The countries received a total of US$737 million between them.