Global business community eager to engage Ghana – President
Ghana’s modest economic transformation over the past 20 months has generated the keen interest of the global business community to do business in the country, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said.
Delivering an address at the US-Africa Business Centre, where he received the 2018 Outstanding Leader’s Award, he said the modest successes his government had chalked in transforming Ghana’s economy, was being recognised by the multi-national companies, that were now eager to engage with Ghana.
The President said his government’s overarching goal to diversify the Ghanaian economy, from being a producer and exporter of raw materials to adding value to its exports, continued to receive major boosts from major multi-national companies seeking to invest in Ghana.
He stated that the decision by two global car giants, Volkswagen of Germany and Sinotruk of China, to establish assembly plants in Ghana, with the intention, in the medium term, of producing their vehicles in the country, was a case in point.
“Tech giant, Google, has also decided to base its African Artificial Intelligence Centre in Ghana, which will make it the first in Africa. ExxonMobil has also signed an agreement with the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to undertake deep-water oil exploration and production.
“For us, the rapid enhancement of foreign direct investment is an essential ingredient in realising our vision of a Ghana Beyond Aid, that is building in Ghana a strong, productive economy, capable of generating a dignified, prosperous existence for its people, and banishing the spectre of poverty,” he said.
The President told the gathering that his government was creating a resilient and robust economy, “and the macroeconomic indices, at the halfway point of my term of office, are pointing in the right direction,” and “that will be maintained so that we can provide the stability to stimulate investments.”
He stated that by dint of hard work, and the prudent management of the economy, the country’s GDP growth rate, which had declined steeply in 2016, grew to 8.5 per cent in 2017, with growth rate in 2018, expected to be 8.3 per cent.
“Sector after sector, we are making significant advances. We have also taken steps to formalise the Ghanaian economy, and, in the process, we aim to establish the most business-friendly economy in Africa, to enable the private sector to thrive,” he added.
President Akufo-Addo, therefore, urged representatives of Fortune 500 companies present at the event to look at Ghana, and not to ignore her.
“You can choose to invest through the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, or set up as a company in our Free Zones enclave. Regardless of where the investment is, government has instituted a number of incentives for the investor, depending on the nature of the activity or the location of the investment.
“This is to ensure that your investment succeeds. I assure you that your investments will be safe in fact, and will be protected by law,” he added.
Source: GNA