Ram & McRae, Chartered Accountants, Professional Services Firm is pleased to present the findings of our Annual Business Outlook Survey for the Year 2001.

Business Outlook 2001 is the fifth in the series conducted by the Firm. In the past the Survey has proven to be a useful guide for managers as they plan their strategies to meet the challenges of an increasingly inter-related business environment.

The focus of the Report is of course on the future, but to the extent that a comparison with Outlook 1999 is considered relevant we have commented briefly on any striking changes or similarities. Our Report is designed with the Guyana economy in mind. It tracks business issues and trends that affect Guyanese businesses - including the level of consumer confidence, reliability of power supply, economic growth prospects and the change in the presidency. It also looks at the social and political dimension of the economy including issues such as crime and the political risk arising from the continuing differences between the country’s two major political parties.

The Questionnaire which we sent out has not been included in this Report which we would like to keep to a manageable size. However, copies of the Questionnaire are available from our office.

The following pages share the results of the Survey in which forty-five leading entrepreneurs and corporate executives state their views on subjects ranging from government policies to funding their businesses.

Ram & McRae shares these perceptions and strategies in the hope that they will help other Guyanese business leaders to make the most informed decisions possible.

We take this opportunity to thank all those businesses which took part in the Survey and for so willingly sharing with us their time and their views. As always we welcome suggestions and comments on how the Survey may be improved.

For more information about this Survey contact:

Christopher Ram

Managing Partner

Tel: (592) 2-74891 Fax: (592) 2-54221

E-mail:ramc@solutions2000.net