Ghana offers stable African market access - Ofori-Atta to Chinese investors
The government is seeking to attract a minimum of $3 billion annually from various sources to support the growth agenda.
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The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, who disclosed this, stated: “that is the scale of our ambitions and because of that, we are fully committed to regaining the trust and confidence of our business partners and the investor community”.
Speaking at a Ghana-China Business Roundtable in Shenzhen, China last Tuesday, Mr Ofori-Atta further reiterated that Ghana offered Chinese investors political stability, access to stable energy, a strong macroeconomic and competitive business environment.
The businesses could, therefore, leverage a growing middle-class and a highly educated and competitive workforce, the minister added.
Mr Ofori-Atta, therefore, encouraged Chinese businesses to consider Ghana a hub of their businesses and take advantage of Ghana’s hosting of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The Ghana-China Business Roundtable to deepen economic ties between both countries was organised jointly by Ghana’s Embassy in the Chinese capital, Beijing, and the Ghana-Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Chamber of Commerce.
The roundtable of business leaders and private sector representatives from the two countries in Shenzhen last Tuesday, was part of a five-day working visit of the minister to China.
Deepening relations
Mr Ofori-Atta indicated that his visit to China was not only to deepen the bilateral relations between China and Ghana, but also to deliberately explore investment opportunities that allowed for Chinese businesses to invest, grow and succeed in Ghana.
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He mentioned many success stories of Chinese businesses that had thrived in Ghana for decades, stating that “our objective is, therefore, to make sure that we create the necessary favourable business environment for long-term investment in Ghana for all.”
The minister expressed optimism about Ghana’s economic prospects and stated that the current three-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was beginning to yield results with the rebound of Ghana’s economy.
Mr Ofori-Atta told the Chinese business community that macroeconomic performance had been strong with growth for the first three quarters averaging 3.2 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and inflation drastically reducing from 54.1 per cent in December 2022 to 23.2 per cent in December 2023.
He said the currency, the Ghana cedi, was also showing commendable stability, depreciating by a marginal 7.2 per cent between February and December last year.
Mr Ofori-Atta added that almost a week ago, the Fund officially announced that "the Government’s reforms are bearing fruit, and signs of economic stabilisation are emerging”.
The minister expressed commitment to work with the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) to reopen its office in the Guangzhou province and a potential office in Shenzhen to provide a first line of information dissemination for both Ghanaian businesses seeking to do business in China and Chinese businesses seeking to do business in Ghana.
Private sector
The Chairman of Sunon Asogli Power (Ghana) Ltd, Yang Qun, speaking at the event, stressed that the Chinese government took a positive view of Chinese companies expanding their frontiers outside their country and touted Sunon-Asogli’s success story of successfully investing and operating in Ghana’s energy sector for almost 15 years.
The Chinese private sector representatives who were present cut across many sectors, including manufacturing, mining, healthcare, equipment and machinery, infrastructure, building materials and construction.
Right information
Responding to a question on the tax and legal regime in Ghana, the President of the AGI, Dr Humphrey Ayim-Darke, stressed the need for prospecting Chinese companies to visit official sources for information concerning the business climate in Ghana.
He stated that Ghana operated a liberalised market that welcomed all forms of investors in so far as they conformed to the legal requirements of the state.