The Guyana Business Outlook Survey has been an annual feature conducted by the Accounting & Professional Services Firm of Ram & McRae for the past six years. Those who have followed this series would recall that there was an absence in 1998 following the unrest arising out of the December 1997 elections.

We are pleased to offer the fifth and increasingly popular publication of the Business Outlook Survey. Though this year’s Survey has seen a decline in the number of respondents, we consider it representative enough of the views of a wide cross section of the local business community and are sure that the results along with our analysis and comments will be useful to both local and foreign businesspersons.

This year questionnaires were sent to one hundred and six (106) companies covering a wide spectrum of economic units across various forms of ownership and activities. Up to the date when responses were compiled forty-five (45) companies or 42.5% companies submitted responses which are included in this Report.

Of the companies responding, twenty (20) or forty-four percent (44%) represented the retail/distribution sector, thirteen (13) or twenty nine percent (29%) were from the manufacturing sector, seven or sixteen percent (16%) were in the construction/architecture business, six or thirteen percent (13%) were in mining whilst there were also respondents from tourism and leisure, agriculture, insurance, banking/finance, advertising, consulting/ professional services, printing & publishing, fisheries and media sectors.

The Survey group comprised companies having varying levels of turnover. The largest group of sixteen (16) companies or thirty-six percent (36%) had an annual turnover of over one billion dollars, four or nine percent had turnover between $700M and one billion dollars, three or seven percent (7%) reported income between $500M and $700M, ten or twenty-two percent (22%) between $200M and $500M, one between $100M and $200M and ten of income less than $100M. One respondent did not indicate its turnover.

Of the Survey group twenty-nine percent (29%) had a strictly domestic focus and seventy-one percent (71%) were involved to varying degrees in export.

In terms of size of the workforce, most respondents (40%) have a staff of fifty (50) persons or less, eight between 51-100 persons, fifteen (15) between 101-500 persons, three between 501-1,000 and one above 1,000 employees.

This Survey Report is available to all members of the business community as well as members of the public who may be interested. Copies may be uplifted from our Office on Waterloo Street.