Finance Minister tells investors─ ‘Now is the opportune time to invest in Guyana’

Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh stressed that now is the opportune time to invest in Guyana, as the country is undergoing its most significant transformation in history. Dr. Singh was speaking at the launch of the first female-owned insurance company in Guyana, RNS Insurance Brokers and Consultants, on Wednesday.

The finance minister in delivering the keynote address congratulated Founder and General Manager of the company, Ramona Singh for launching the business. “RNS insurance brokers is coming at a time when in every sense of the word business opportunities are growing, and new business opportunities are emerging at a previously unprecedented pace,” Minister Singh said.

He continued, “We in government remain strong believers in the value of insurance products, and in the strength of the insurance sector. We commend new entrants into the market, because we believe competition is always a good thing.”  The Minister disclosed that government has been consistently working to strengthen insurance supervision, and have taken other measures to achieve a more consolidated approach to supervising the financial sector.

He noted that more recently the government introduced a minimum threshold for insurance businesses in the local content legislation. Dr. Singh revealed that taxpayers will also benefit from a deduction from their chargeable income for premiums paid for life and medical insurance with a maximum of 10 percent of their income or $30,000 per month.

The finance minister anticipates that the demand for insurance products will drastically increase in the months ahead. He stressed the importance of insurance as an essential risk management tool that can be used at the corporate, household and individual levels. Citing an example, the minister said that, “All too often in my line of work I encounter really tragic stories of families who face a catastrophe or even companies who face a catastrophe and have made no provision whatsoever by way of insurance to insulate themselves from this catastrophe.”

Meanwhile, Human Services and Social Security Minister, Dr. Vindhya Persaud also commended the entrepreneur and noted that there is space in the various sectors, for competent and intelligent women. “I would like to see more women jumping into these non-traditional areas of enterprise in our country…but also, I would like to see them engaged in so many other different areas that are now wide open for their participation, for their leadership and stewardship and definitely for them to engage, not only nationally, but internationally,” Minister Persaud said.

It was disclosed that the insurance brokerage and consultancy firm will help clients purchase policies based on their personal or business needs. It was pointed out that Singh has been in the insurance business for the past 22 years and is licenced by the Bank of Guyana. She expressed her delight in being the first woman in a male- dominated industry, to launch her firm. “One of our key focus is to launch an interactive website which allows our customers to make queries, feedback and payments among other key features. Through this medium, we will also provide 24-hour insurance advisory services to our customers and the general public,” Singh declared.