US Citibank plans to start Ghana operations
The Government of Ghana on Tuesday announced that it is considering encouraging private sector participation in power generation and for that sector to play a greater role in the energy sector.
Additionally, private investors are also being encouraged to do more in the road sector so they could recover their investment after some years of tolling.
Vice President Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah Arrthur announced these In a discussion with Mr Naveed Riaz, Chief Executive Officer of Citi Bank for Africa, who paid a courtesy call on him at the Flagstaff House in Accra on Tuesday.
He said the overall objective was to encourage a public-private partnership driven economy, with significant domestic participation, particularly in the area of infrastructure financing.
Vice President Amissah-Arthur said the Citi Bank, entering into the Ghanaian banking market, would help raise standards in the industry.
The American bank for the past 10 years has been engaged in the financing of operations of COCOBOD, the Volta River Authority and the oil and gas industry, Mr James Agyenim Boateng, an aide to the Vice President who briefed journalists after the meeting, said.
The Bank is yet to a obtain license for full operations, and looking at being fully physically present in Ghana.
Vice President Amissah-Arthur said by being physically present, the Citii Bank, which would be the first US bank in Ghana, would send the right signals to the US and the rest of the world to engage more with Ghana and partner her in the nation’s accelerated development drive.
The Vice President assured investors in the banking sector that Ghana had done a lot through anti-money-laundering legislation and terrorism, and created a safer environment for business in the banking sector.
Mr Riaz, said the Bank had operations in 16 African countries, and was very much interested in entering Ghana after it had completed doing the necessary paperwork.
He said the Bank had committed a significant amount of capital to the operations of COCOBOD.
According the CEO, there was a lot of goodwill out there for Ghana.
After meeting with the Vice President, Mr Riaz, who is on a visit to Ghana, will also meet top officials of the Bank of Ghana and some Ministers of State.
Source: GNA