Gov’t to engage banks on interest rates

The Government will engage banks in the country to deliberate on acceptable interest rate structure that would benefit all stakeholders, and provide a platform for a healthy competition among the banks, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Kwabena Duffour, has said.

He said the move was necessary because although the central bank had reduced prime rates, cost of borrowing at the various commercial banks remained the same.

Dr Duffour made this known in a speech read on his behalf by the Director of Budget at the Ministry, Mr Simeon Patrick Kyei, during a Ghana Employers Association (GEA) meeting in Accra.

The meeting aimed at enabling the GEA to engage the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MoFEP) on the state of the economy, the MoFEP policy directions in 2010 and also to receive assurances from the government that the economy in 2010 would be conducive for the growth of business after a turbulent 2009 that was stifling to most companies and employers. Read more

Kufuor`s Minister mad at gov’t… Over sale of Kosmos shares

The former Deputy Energy Minister and Member of Parliament (MP) for Adansi Asokwa, Hon. Kobina Tahir Hammond has advised the government to “respect its contractual obligations” with investors in the newly found oil and gas industry, and refrain from turning the country into what he described as “gangsterism.” According to him, failure by government to honour its contractual obligations will result in the country loosing potential investors, a situation he said will impede government’s agenda for a “Better Ghana.” “We should be careful at how we approach this issue. You can’t rob Peter to Paul. We are antagonizing the American people and that is not fair. The government must respect its contractual obligations with investors in the oil industry,” fumed Hon. Hammond, in an exclusive interview with The Chronicle. His advice to the government was in respect to recent publications in the Wall Street Journal and Forbes.com, two of America’s most respected financial and business media institutions. Read more

Cocoa grinders run at 36% capacity

Cocoa processing plants are running at only one-third of their production capacity as a result of inadequate supply of light crop beans to feed the plants, says an industry report seen by Reuters on last week.

The report, written after the cocoa conference in Accra last week, said local cocoa processing companies were working at an average of 36 per cent capacity because demand for beans from the light crop far exceeds production, while main crop beans are too expensive for some factories to buy.

As part of President John Atta Mills’ government policy to boost domestic revenue by encouraging more value-added processing, national marketing body Cocobod discounts beans from the minor light crop season, which runs from May to September in the world’s second-biggest grower, to local processors.

That crop output has dwindled while processing capacity has increased, leaving grinders either to pay more for main crop beans, or leave capacity idle. Read more

Abeka Shell station closed down on suspicion of selling premix as petrol

A Shell Station at Abeka, a suburb of Accra has been closed down by officials of the National Petroleum Authority over allegations it is selling premix fuel to motorists as petrol.

This follows an inspection tour of the facility by the NPA officials on Thursday.

The station on Friday had an inscription, ‘no fuel’ boldly written at the entrance with its pumping machines under lock.

Premix fuel mostly used by fishermen to power their outboard motors is mostly in short supply largely due to illegal siphoning. Read more

‘Ivory Coast oil find claim has serious implications’

Lands and Natural Resources Minister says the emerging claim from Ivory Coast to portions of the oil fields in the Western Region is a very delicate matter.

Collins Dauda said the issue has serious international and diplomatic repercussions.

Government is expecting Parliament to quickly deliberate on a bill that would establish a boundary commission to negotiate Ghana’s maritime boundaries with Ivory Coast.

The Ghana Boundaries Commission Bill has been sent to Parliament under a certificate of urgency, Mr Dauda indicated. Read more

Ghana awards corporate excellence on June 24

This year’s Ghana Club 100 Awards under the auspices of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) has been fixed for June 24 under the theme; “Enhancing Partnerships between Domestic and Foreign Investments for Economic Growth”.

The award (GC 100), which was instituted in 1997 and presented its maiden awards in 1998, aims at developing an open information culture within the Ghanaian corporate sector, provide incentives for improved corporate performance, develop uniform criteria for evaluating corporate performance, and establish an annual and current analysis of Ghana´s corporate sector.

A statement by the GIPC said Award winners will be celebrated in seven key strategic sectors namely: Agriculture and Agri-Business, Financial Services, ICT, Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Petroleum and Mining Services, and Tourism. Read more

Ghana needs a competition law – Research fellow

Ghana needs to pass a competition law and establish an authority to monitor and research into complaints of industry players who feel cheated by acts of their peers.

Presenting a draft research report on measuring the economic impact of competition, Mr. Roghit Singh, a research fellow with the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), said the absence of legislation on anti-competitive practices did not augur well for the country.

He said appropriate competition policies and the establishment of competitive authority could help to ensure that markets work efficiently and effectively to deliver economic welfare and growth. Read more

Simon Dornoo assumes duty as MD of GCB

The new Managing Director of Ghana Commercial Bank Limited (GCB), Mr Simon Dornoo has assumed duty.

Mr Dornoo takes over from Mr Lawrence Adu-Mante who retired from service on Wednesday, March 3, 2010.

With a wealth of experience in banking and finance in Ghana and an extensive international exposure gained in the United Kingdom and South Africa, the new Managing Director is well placed to lead Ghana’s largest Bank with a network of 157 branches and 15 agencies across the country.

He joins GCB from Barclays Bank where he worked in various Senior Management positions from January, 1999 to March, 2010.

He worked locally with Barclays Bank of Ghana as Finance Director and Country Treasurer as well as with Barclays PLC, U.K. being the first African to be appointed as Finance Director for Barclays Africa and the Indian Ocean with oversight responsibility for ten countries.

Simon, 48, began his professional career with KPMG in 1985 where he trained and later worked as an Audit Senior until 1990. Read more

Bank of Trinidad and Tobago explores opportunities in Ghana

The Deputy Managing Director of the Republic Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, Mr. Gregory Thompson, has expressed optimism about identifying investment opportunities in the country.

“Ghana’s economy has a lot of similarities with Trinidad and Tobago, and having had the privilege of operating in our oil economy successfully, we believe there are several areas where we can bring lessons we have learned to bear on the Ghanaian economy,” he said.

Mr. Thompson made these remarks when the delegation paid a visit to the Minister of Energy Dr. Oteng-Agyei.

The high powered delegation was led by the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Mr. Hilton John Mitchell. It also included Gregory Thompson and Mr. Robert Le-Hunte, Managing Director of Barbados National Bank. Read more

Cote d’Ivoire lays claim to Ghana’s oil

A major crude oil-induced border dispute could break out between Ghana and neighbouring Ivory Coast, if immediate steps are not taken to enter into appropriate negotiations to redefine the international boundary between the two West African nations.

Ghana’s Western neighbor Ivory Coast is reportedly laying claims to portions of the huge oil wealth in the deep waters of the Western Region.

In a move to save the situation, Ghana has begun an urgent move to pass a new law that seeks to establish the Ghana Boundary Commission to undertake negotiations to determine and demarcate Ghana’s land boundaries and de-limit Ghana’s maritime boundaries. Read more

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