Ali Floats Diaspora Bonds to Let Guyanese Abroad Fund Major Infrastructure
President Irfaan Ali says bonds will be issued to the Guyanese diaspora to invest in major infrastructure, a notable test of whether nationals abroad will buy into the oil-era build-out.
President Irfaan Ali has indicated that Guyana will issue bonds to members of its diaspora, allowing nationals abroad to invest directly in major infrastructure projects at home. The proposal arrives as the country is slated to receive billions in oil revenue and as the government tightens local-content rules to ensure Guyanese, rather than “rent-a-citizen” arrangements, capture the benefits of the boom.
The diaspora-bond model, used elsewhere to channel patriotic and financial motives into development finance, would give Guyanese in North America and beyond a formal stake in roads, bridges, and energy projects. Commentators have noted the announcement landed with curiously little public debate for a policy of its scale, and the details, yield, tenor, guarantees, and how proceeds are ring-fenced, will determine whether it draws real money or remains aspirational.
For TWB readers weighing where to put capital, a sovereign-backed instrument tied to a fast-growing economy is worth tracking, with the usual caution that governance transparency in Guyana’s resource sector remains contested.
Source: Kaieteur News.