‘Deteriorating’ world economy not yet affecting foreign investment policies – UN
As the world economy is in crisis, that has not yet had an impact on foreign investment policies although there are signs that countries are becoming more concerned about the effect of investment flows, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has said October 13, 2011.
According to its 6th Investment Policy Monitor report, the UN’s trade body warn of fears about possible macroeconomic shocks and the possibility of a prolonged recession which could increase the risk of new protectionist measures against foreign investors.
“The number of investment restrictions that have accumulated over the recent years, and the tightening of administrative procedures point in this direction,” said UNCTAD in press release copied to ghanabusinessnews.com
But UNCTAD said 2011 has seen little signs of such reaction as “from April to September 2011, more than 30 economies introduced new investment policies, and the large majority of these measures, nearly 75% favoured investment liberalization and promotion.
It adds “At least 30 economies introduced new national policy measures related to investment, 35 economies concluded 24 new international investment agreements (IIAs), including 17 double taxation treaties, 5 bilateral investment treaties and 2 other IIAs.”
The number of concluded agreements indicates that international investment policymaking continued, albeit at a slower pace, UNCTAD says. “The public policy discourse about IIAs intensified, particularly in the European context, with increasing attention given to their sustainability dimension.”
In Ghana, new companies invested $97 million into the country’s economy during the second quarter 2011, according to the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC). About 127 new projects were registered during the period from April 1 to June 30.
The total estimated value of the newly registered projects GIPC said was GH¢900.45 million or $600.30 million with the foreign direct investment (FDI) component valuing GH¢828.44 million or $552.29 million, representing 92% of the total estimated value, and a local currency component of GH¢72.01 million or $48.00 million, representing 8%.
According to the GIPC the total foreign equity was GH¢445.02 million or $296.68 million and the initial equity transfers was GH¢145.55 million or $97.03 million for the period.
By Ekow Quandzie