Category: Business

The country is expected to make some significant gains in oil production as Aker Energy, the operator of Deepwater Tano/Cape Three Points block offshore, has moved to develop the asset.

This comes as Aker Energy, on behalf of its partners, presented its plan of development (PoD) to the Ministry of Energy in Accra.

Aker Energy had initially promised first oil by 2020, but has now revised the timeline to 2025. The company had repeatedly postponed submission of the PoD since 2018, raising doubts about its reliability and commitment to development of the Pecan field.

The PoD is a legal requirement that details the plan to develop an oil and gas field in an integrated way to produce the hydrocarbon reserves optimally, by considering the technical, economic as well as Health, safety and environmental aspects of the project.

Ghana’s crude oil production in the first to third quarters of 2022 declined by 5.73 percent – lower than the production of 41.53 million barrels for the same period in 2021.

The reduction in crude oil production was attributed to the natural field decline from the TEN and SGN Fields.

However, the latest development could revitalise the country’s crude production has been on a downward trajectory since 2019.

The Chief Executive of Aker Energy, Kadijah Amoah, said in a press statement it is a comprehensive plan of development that will form the basis for sustainable and efficient development of the Pecan field.

The PoD presents an overall plan for the development and production of resources in the DWT/CTP contract area. The phased development plan will start with the development of the Pecan field as a firm phase-one, being the largest of several discoveries in the contract area.

The main Pecan field, located in ultra-deep waters ranging from 2,400 to 2,700 metres deep, about 115 kilometres offshore Ghana, will be developed with a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel and a subsea production system (SPS).

Given the development, the operator and partners expect the Pecan field development and subsequent phases to provide significant proceeds for Ghana.

“This has been a team effort, and despite the significant challenges we faced we have shown once again our resilience and unflinching commitment to the project. We now look forward to approval of the PoD so we can get to work, developing and producing the resources for the ultimate benefit of Ghanaian people,” said Ms. Amoah.

Source: Ghana Web

As part of the campaign embarked on by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to go after monies owed them, 52 customers in the Accra West Region of ECG were found to have engaged in illegal connections.

This, according to the ECG, are customers who are illegally connect to the grid and have refused to pay for the power they used. The result is the retrieval of GH¢750,000.00 worth of 550,000kWh of electricity illegally used by the customers.

ECG’s Revenue Protection Manager for Accra West, Dr Mark Owusu Ansah noted that through the illegal connection, customers are able to use power without contributing to the revenue basket of the company denying them of raising the needed revenue to run the company.

Some of the illegalities included meter bypass, meter tampering and direct connections.

According to Dr Mark Ansah, the arrests were made within the first ten days of the campaign. The aim is to recoup monies owed them as well as check the health of meters it has installed in the area.

As per the records, he added that the customers have illegally used about 550,000kWh of electricity translating to about GHc750,000 (plus taxes and administrative charges) and some actions have already been taken against the people responsible.

“Power to these customers has been disconnected, they have been surcharged for the electricity they used without paying and charged a penalty fee for engaging in the illegalities. Also, depending on the gravity of the offense, we will hand some cases over to the police for prosecution.” he said.

Dr Mark added that the sophistication of the illegal connections shows that the culprits have resolved to not paying for the power they use. He, thus, appreciated the field team who are helping to identify and arrest persons who are engaging in the illegal acts.

The General Manager for the region, Mr Emmanuel Akinie, added that the ECG is investing heavily in technology such as the introduction of smart meters to help in the early identification of customers who engaged in any illegalities.

“We have introduced some smart meter solutions on pilot basis, which give us real-time updates of what is happening on a customer premises. It signals our office once the meter-case is opened, bypassed or tampered with,” he said.

The smart meters, he added, will be rolled out in no time to help the company fight the menace.

The areas under the Accra West region include; Ablekuma, Achimota, Amasaman, Bortianor, Dansoman, Kaneshie, Korle Bu and Nsawam.

Source: Ghana Web

The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) has called on its members in the business community to respond positively to the changing trend in inflation and adjust prices to also reflect the exchange rate.

This comes after the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) on April 12 announced a sharp drop in the national inflation from 52.8 percent in February to 45.0 percent in March 2023.

On the back on this and some relative stability in the exchange rate, GUTA has encouraged traders to react by adjusting the prices of goods towards a downward trend.

“In light of this, GUTA entreats all members of the business community to respond positively to the changing trend and adjust prices to reflect the exchange rate”

“Indeed, we are very appreciative of the government’s efforts, and hope that it will bring relief to businesses and lead to the economic transformation we all cherish and desire as a nation,” President of GUTA, Dr Joseph Obeng said this in a statement issued on April 12, 2023.

GUTA further acknowledged the efforts of government and the Bank of Ghana which has resulted in the recent developments.

The Association however urged government to work towards further strengthening the local currency against other major trading currencies.

Source: Ghana Web

Note that these rates may be different at a forex bureau near you.

Our forex bureau rates are provided by Afriswap Bureau De Change in Osu, Accra.

The Interbank forex rates from the Bank of Ghana today, April 12, 2023, have shown that the Ghana Cedi is trading against the dollar at a buying price of 10.9243 and a selling price of 10.9353.

At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is being bought at a rate of 10.50 and sold at a rate of 11.50.

Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 13.5822 and a selling price of 13.5969.

At a forex bureau in Accra, the pound sterling is being bought at a rate of 13.40 and sold at a rate of 14.40.

The Euro is trading at a buying price of 11.9226 and a selling price of 11.9323.

At a forex bureau in Accra, Euro is being bought at a rate of 11.50 and sold at a rate of 12.50.

The South African Rand is trading at a buying price of 0.5947 and a selling price of 0.5949.

At a forex bureau in Accra, South African Rand is being bought at a rate of 0.30 and sold at a rate of 0.90.

The Nigerian Naira is trading at a buying price of 42.1591 and a selling price of 42.2542.

At a forex bureau in Accra, Nigerian Naira is being bought at a rate of 13.50 Naira for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 18.50.

For the CFA, it is trading at a buying price of 54.9732 and a selling price of 55.0179.

At a forex bureau in Accra, CFA is being bought at a rate of 17.00 CFA for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 21.00 CFA for every 1 Cedi.

Our forex bureau rates are provided by Afriswap Bureau De Change in Osu, Accra.

Source: Ghana Web

The Treasury exceeded its Issuance target for Q1 2023 by approximately GH¢8.25billion, issuing GH¢36.41billion in total; thus frontloading its capital raising requirement on the money market due to limited investment options available to investors, resulting in higher demand for short-term securities.

BandFT’s analysis of the issuance data reveals that the demand for T-bills continued to soar in Q1 2023 due to attractive yield levels and persistent market uncertainties. Across the 91-day to 364-day bills, the Treasury accepted about GH¢36.41billion in Q1 2023 from a total investor bid of GH¢39.46billion, against a target size of GH¢28.16billion.

This follows the exemption of Treasury-bills from the domestic debt exchange programme in Q4-2022, as government turned toward the Treasury market to finance its budget deficit after being priced out of the bond market.

During Q1 2023, the Treasury made fresh issuances of GH¢12.28billion while GH¢24.13billion covered maturing securities. The issuance made in Q1 2023 reflects an increase of 138 percentage points year-on-year, compared to Q1 2022 at GH¢15.28billion from a total investor bid tender of GH¢15.66billion.

Cumulatively, in 2022 the Treasury sold a gross amount of GH¢71.06billion across tenors on the money market, which was sufficient to cover a gross maturing face value of GH¢59.27billion for the year.

Government has been tapping the Treasury-bill market to refinance maturing obligations and build buffers, leading to the continuous accumulation of a relatively high-interest burden. To reduce the cost of borrowing, the Treasury took advantage of the high demand environment for short-term maturities and compressed yields starting in March 2023. Government has attempted to drive down the interest rates across the 91-day to 364-day money market instruments, to as low as 15 percent.

The market held the view that the relatively high interest costs do not factor in government’s medium-term Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA), prompting the Treasury to take steps to ‘force’ interest rates down at the close of Q1.

At the end of Q1, the coupon rate on the 91-day T-bill had reduced by 1648 basis point (bps) to 18.88 percent from 35.36 percent; and the 182-day bill also reduced, to 21.44 percent by 1454bps from 35.98 percent; and the 364-day bill declined by 1028 bps to 25.66 percent from 35.89 percent.

MPC tightening stance

The decline in yields across the short-term spectrum of the market has halted amid tightening liquidity efforts by the Bank of Ghana, signalling a reversal of cost-cutting moves by the Treasury to keep yields on the low at around 15 percent on the 91-day T-bill. At the March 2023 Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, the policy rate was increased by 150 basis points (bps) to 29.5 percent and the cash reserve requirement increased to 14 percent.

Treasury yields rose marginally over the last two weeks to attract investors as demand weakened in the previous week, marking a second successive week the yields on T-bills increased – following nine consecutive weeks of robust auction performance of oversubscriptions which had yields on the decline.

During the last two week’s auction, which was settled on April 3, 2023, the 91-day bill increased by 50bps to 19.39 percent, while the 182-day bill surged by 42bps to 21.86 percent. Prior to this auction, which was settled on April 3, 2023 following the MPC’s decision, the market had signalled dissatisfaction with the yields on short-term bills. This resulted in a downturn of demand for T-bills after nine consecutive weeks of oversubscription – recording under-subscription of GH¢2.44billion, 24 percent short of the GH¢3.21billion issuance target.

With GH¢1.68billion due across the 91- to 364-day bill this week, the Treasury intends to raise GH¢1.77billion to refinance its maturity value today.

The market anticipates that yields will continue their upward trajectory in the coming weeks on the back of the liquidity crunch – albeit at a moderate pace to attract investors, as Treasury-bills remain one of the key avenues for government in financing its budget deficit.

Source: Ghana Web

A professor of Applied Economics at the John Hopkins University in the United States, Steve Hanke, has attributed Ghana’s current economic status to President Akufo-Addo’s “mismanagement” of the economy.

He stated that Ghana’s current inflation can be measured at 53.76% per year whiles the cedi has depreciated by 43.26% against the dollar.

In a Twitter post on April 10, 2023, he said, “Today, I accurately measure inflation in #Ghana at a stunning 53.76%/yr. Under Pres. Akufo-Addo, Ghana’s economic death spiral just keeps spinning.”

He also added that “By my measure, the Ghanaian #cedi has depreciated 43.26% against the USD since Jan. 1, 2022. Thanks to Pres. Akufo-Addo’s ECONOMIC MISMANAGEMENT, the cedi is JUNK.”

According to the Ghana Statistical Service, inflation stood at 52.8% as of February 2023.

Ghana is currently seeking to obtain a financial bailout from the International Monetary Fund to the tune of $3 billion.

This is expected to help the country adjust its balance of payments and also restore some confidence in the economy.

However, the Ghana cedi has shown some form of stability in the past few weeks and is currently selling at GH¢11.50 as of April 10, 2023.

Today, I accurately measure inflation in #Ghana at a stunning 53.76%/yr. Under Pres. Akufo-Addo, Ghana’s economic death spiral just keeps spinning. pic.twitter.com/BpCIphyKIz

— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) April 10, 2023

By my measure, the Ghanaian #cedi has depreciated 43.26% against the USD since Jan. 1, 2022. Thanks to Pres. Akufo-Addo’s ECONOMIC MISMANAGEMENT, the cedi is JUNK. pic.twitter.com/8njiZ5SmmG

Source: Ghana Web

Economist, Kwame Pianim, has entreated President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo not to assent the three revenue measures bill into law.

He explained that the bill passed needs to be resent to parliament for critical examination.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile programme on Saturday, April 8, 2023, he said, “President Akufo-Addo should refuse to sign these bills.”

He also criticized the 8th parliament for its lack of due diligence in passing three new taxes.

Mr Pianim said this parliament will go down in history as one of the worst in Ghana’s history.

Parliament on Friday, March 31, 2023, passed three revenue bills, namely; Income Tax Amendment Bill, Excise Duty Amendment Bill, and Growth and Sustainability Amendment Bill.

The bills are expected to rake in GH¢3.96 billion for the country once implemented.

The Growth and Sustainability Levy is expected to raise approximately GH¢2.216 billion in 2023, while the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2022 which amends the Income Tax Act, 2015 (Act 896) is expected to yield revenues of approximately GH¢1.29 billion.

The Excise Duty (Amendment) Bill, 2022 amends the Excise Duty Act, 2014 (Act 878) and is expected to yield approximately GH¢455 million.

But some Ghanaians, including the business community, have tongue-lashed Members of Parliament for passing the three revenue bills.

Source: Ghana Web

Andy Osei Sarfo popularly known in showbiz circles as Kweku Flick has established that music is the best thing to ever happen to him.

According to the ‘Money’ hitmaker, he didn’t have plans to venture into any profession during his school days until he got a passion to do music.

He told Castle FM’s Amansan Krakye that, “I’m not sure I can ever stop doing music because music has helped me and if not for music I wouldn’t know what I’ll be doing right now.

“Because I don’t know whether I’ll become a Doctor, Police or Bank Manager since I didn’t have any other profession in mind that I was eager to do. At the beginning, it was only about going to school until I got a passion for music so as for music even if I stop doing it I’ll have done myself a great disservice,” he said.

Kweku Flick added that although he has the tendency of taking up other side jobs, music is a constant venture in his life.

“I can do a lot of side businesses alongside music but to quit music entirely is something that I’ll never contemplate on it because I can’t stop,” he stressed.

Flick became more popular during the 2022 FIFA World Cup season when he composed a song to honour Black Stars player, Mohamed Kudus.

Source: Ghana Web