Guyana: Business and Legal Guide
Guyana combines a South American location with strong commercial, legal and institutional connections to the Caribbean. Its rapidly developing economy presents opportunities in petroleum and energy, mining, infrastructure, construction, financial services, property, telecommunications, trade, transport, agriculture and professional services.
Those opportunities are accompanied by legal requirements concerning corporate establishment, taxation, customs, financing, land, planning, environmental approval, employment, immigration, local content, public procurement and sector-specific regulation.
Based in Georgetown, Fraser & Housty advises domestic, regional and international clients on Guyanese law. Our work includes corporate and commercial transactions, banking and finance, taxation, property and construction, energy and natural resources, employment, intellectual property and telecommunications, public procurement, regulatory compliance, litigation and public law.
More detail is on Doing Business in Guyana, Key Industries and Regulated Sectors, and Official Resources.
This information is general and does not constitute legal, tax, financial or investment advice.
The country’s commercial environment has expanded significantly since offshore petroleum production commenced in 2019. That expansion has increased activity in energy, infrastructure, construction, financial services, transport and logistics, property development, telecommunications, hospitality, agriculture, manufacturing, mining and professional services. It has also created a more complex legal and regulatory environment in which careful local planning is essential.
Fraser & Housty is based in Georgetown and advises domestic, regional and international clients on Guyanese law across the life cycle of investments, transactions, regulated operations and disputes.
Guyana at a glance
Guyana is situated on the northern Atlantic coast of South America and shares borders with Brazil, Suriname and Venezuela. The country has a land area of approximately 214,999 square kilometres. The 2022 Population and Housing Census recorded a population of 878,674.
Although geographically located in South America, Guyana’s legal, commercial, educational and institutional traditions are closely connected to the Commonwealth Caribbean. Georgetown is the seat of the CARICOM Secretariat, and Guyana participates in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy.
Current economic and demographic information is available from the Bureau of Statistics, the Ministry of Finance and the World Bank’s Guyana country page.
The legal and institutional framework
Guyana is governed by a written Constitution. Its laws include the Constitution, Acts of Parliament, subsidiary legislation and principles developed through judicial decisions. Legislation and parliamentary materials are available through the Parliament of Guyana.
The Supreme Court of Judicature comprises the High Court and the Court of Appeal. Magistrates’ Courts exercise statutory civil and criminal jurisdiction, while the High Court hears substantial civil, commercial, constitutional, administrative, family, probate, land and criminal matters. Information about court rules, filing and practice directions is published by the Supreme Court of Judicature.
The Caribbean Court of Justice is Guyana’s final appellate court in civil and criminal matters. It also exercises an original jurisdiction concerning the interpretation and application of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.
Investing and operating in Guyana
There is no single approval that authorises every aspect of a proposed investment. The requirements depend upon the investor, business structure, activity, location, financing arrangements, workforce and regulated sector.
A project may require consideration of:
- company incorporation or registration of an external company;
- shareholder, joint-venture and corporate-governance arrangements;
- tax, customs, investment-concession and foreign-exchange matters;
- banking, securities, insurance and financing regulation;
- title to land, leases, mortgages and security interests;
- planning, construction and environmental approvals;
- petroleum, mining, local-content or other sector-specific licences;
- public-procurement and government-contracting requirements;
- employment, occupational safety and immigration matters;
- intellectual-property, technology and telecommunications regulation;
- competition, consumer-protection and product-standard requirements;
- anti-money-laundering, beneficial-ownership and compliance systems; and
- contractual risk allocation, dispute resolution and enforcement.
Early coordination of these matters can help identify regulatory dependencies before capital is committed or contractual obligations become unconditional.
Guyana’s regional and international position
Guyana participates in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, whose principal regimes concern the movement of goods, services, capital and qualifying CARICOM nationals, together with the right of establishment. The application of those regimes depends upon nationality, legal status, the proposed activity and compliance with applicable documentary and administrative requirements. They should therefore be examined in the context of each transaction rather than treated as automatic exemptions from national law.
Guyana has also been a member of the World Trade Organization since 1995. Information about Guyana’s trade commitments and tariff data is available from the WTO’s Guyana member page.
How Fraser & Housty can assist
Fraser & Housty advises clients on matters including:
- corporate establishment, investment structuring and commercial agreements;
- mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and corporate governance;
- banking, project finance, securities and secured transactions;
- taxation, revenue, customs and investment incentives;
- property acquisition, conveyancing, leasing and development;
- construction, infrastructure and public procurement;
- petroleum, energy, mining, local content and environmental regulation;
- employment, pensions, immigration and workplace compliance;
- intellectual property, technology and telecommunications;
- competition, consumer protection and regulatory compliance;
- shipping, maritime, aviation, trade and logistics;
- insurance, restructuring and insolvency;
- litigation, appeals and alternative dispute resolution; and
- constitutional, administrative and public-law proceedings.
Our role is tailored to the client and the transaction. Where a matter requires tax, accounting, engineering, environmental, valuation or other specialist input, we work with the client’s professional team to coordinate the legal aspects of the project.
Speak with us
If you are considering an investment, transaction, regulated activity or dispute involving Guyana, Fraser & Housty can assist in identifying the relevant legal requirements, approvals, risks and implementation steps.