Category: Business

The Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana (IEAG) has expressed disappointment at the government’s inability to consult the business community and other stakeholders before the implementation of the discount reversal on benchmark values.

The implementation of the discount reversal on Free On-Board value on general goods, and the Home Delivery Value of vehicles, which were contained in the 2023 Budget and Fiscal Policy, took effect from January 1, 2023.

Mr Samson Awingobit Asaki, the Executive Secretary of the IEAG, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Tema that the reversal of the discount was a stab in the back of the business community due to the government’s failure to follow its own promises.

Mr Asaki explained that in March 2022, the finance minister at a meeting on the reduction of the discount on the benchmark value agreed with the business community that such reversals would lead to increase in prices on the market.

He said, “the Finance Minister made it clear that the government was going to set up an Ad-hoc committee comprising the business community and government, I can tell you that since the benchmark value was taken away, up to date the government has not invited us to continue the discussion or constitute the ad-hoc committee.”

The IEAG Executive Secretary added that “so we as a business community believed that the government has stabbed us in the back, it is not living up to his own words when the Finance Minister said they were going to take steps to take it off, there was no stakeholder engagement.”

Touching on the implementation of the reversal on the first working day of 2023, he noted that information received from the port from IEAG members indicated that importers who had their tax bill last week ahead of the reversal were having challenges paying their duties.

According to him, those importers were being asked by the system to get a new tax bill due to the benchmark value discount reversal.

He questioned if the reversal was being done retrospectively, saying, “The issue is that if I have received my tax bill as at last week at a time that the reversal had not taken place, why can’t I pay my duties since today is the first working day, does the law take retrospective effect or what?

Meanwhile, Mr Iddrisu Iddisah Seidu, Acting Commissioner, Customs Division of the GRA, in a memo announcing the implementation of the reversal, stated that a transitional arrangement provides a storage-free period for consignments discharged on December 31, 2022, from arriving means of conveyance to go through clearance without being affected by the reversal policy.

The order indicated that all pre-arrival declarations processed and tax paid even when the goods have not arrived before 1st January 2023 shall not be affected by the reversal policy.

It stated that per Section 48 of the Customs ACT 2015, (Act 891); the criteria for the implementation of the discount reversal in the Integrated Customs Management System is based on the validation of the bill of entry (BOE) and tax bill payment date.

“Any BOE that has been processed and tax bill duly paid before the effective date of the policy, will, not be affected, any BOE with tax bill duly paid before the effective date, but undergoing a post entry without any change affecting tax amount paid, will not be affected.”

It further stated that any BOE that has been assessed and/or accepted but tax bill not paid before the effective date would undergo reprocessing for the complete reversal of discount earlier applied to the value(s).

“For the avoidance of any doubt, the values to be used or applied in the assessment of duties shall be the full (hundred percent) and devoid of any reduction in values (10 percent for vehicles and 30 percent for all other goods).

“Thus, the status quo ante April 4th, 2019 shall be restored in respect of all items with effect from January 1st, 2023.”

Source: Ghana Web

Former deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has projected that the Ghana cedi with return to depreciation trajectory between January to June 2023.

It will achieve stability therefrom after a possible International Monetary Fund (IMF) board approval of a US$3bn facility the government applied for in 2022, which facility he believes will be available in the second quarter of 2023.

Government and the IMF reached a Staff-Level Agreement on the deal late last year.

The local currency depreciation was one of 10 economic projections the Ranking Member on the Finance Committee on Parliament put on in a January 3, 2023 social media post.

“The cedi will inevitably depreciate further, from Jan to June. Before a possible IMF board approval in Q2, 2023.”

Ghana had a torrid 2022 amid an economic crisis that forced government to seek an IMF facility at a time the cedi was rapidly depreciating, inflation was galloping and government was faced with multiple downgrades by rating agencies.

The government has serially blamed the crisis partly on the aftershocks of the COVID pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

According to Ato Forson, Ghana will likely record a poor non-oil GDP growth citing the impact of government’s debt restructuring programme and other unfriendly fiscal and monetary policies government is set to roll out.

“The haircut on domestic bonds and Eurobond is expected to adversely impact the health of the banking sector, local businesses, and individuals! Also, Bilateral debt restructuring will lead to government’s foreign-financed projects being abandoned.

“Unemployment will worsen due to the freeze on employment, debt restructuring, poor business climate, and massive austerity. Ghana will default in the payment of interest and principal on domestic bonds, Eurobonds, and most of our bilateral loans in 2023.”

He continued: “Also, the government’s policy of automatic adjustment of electricity tariffs will exacerbate the high cost of living in 2023. Inflation is expected to be above 30% for the most part of 2023,” he added.

Government has promised to turn around the economic fortunes of the country after sealing the Staff-Level agreement with the IMF with the hope that funds from the US$3 billion facility will be released early this year.

Source: Ghana Web

Accra, Jan 3, GNA – inDrive, a global mobility and urban services platform has started operating in Ghana with the company currently operating in over 700 cities in 47 countries.

A statement issued in Accra by the Company said a distinctive feature of inDrive was its peer-to-peer pricing model, where the passenger and the driver agree on the fare and other details of the ride directly.

It said the agreements were final and did not change depending on distance, weather conditions or traffic congestion.

The inDrive app has been downloaded over 150 million times, making it the second most downloaded mobility app in the world.

The statement said the company operated in many African countries, including South Africa, Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, and Namibia.

It said unlike other ride hailing companies, inDrive does not use pricing algorithms and does not increase trip fares during rush hours.

“Once registered, the passenger inputs the A and B points of their route and offers their price for the trip when prompted by the app. Offers from available drivers will pop up on the screen,” it added.

The statement said the passenger then selects the offer that best suits them in terms of price, driver rating and vehicle model.

It said drivers could select the requests they accept by passenger rating and user reviews and drivers always see the destination prior to accepting the ride request.

“This fair approach to pricing stems from the company’s mission of Challenging Injustices,” it said.

The inDrive would not charge a service fee during the first stage of the launch in Accra and it meant that drivers who join the platform would be able to earn even more.

inDrive’s unique business model keeps the company competitive without needing to raise substantial investments.

Peer-to-peer pricing, combined with the lowest service fee in the world (under 10 per cent without VAT), alongside impactful campaigns, help organically grow brand awareness.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Jospong Group of Companies’ (JGC) decision to invest in the rice sector has been hailed as a ‘great booster’ towards the government’s vision of ensuring that Ghana becomes a net exporter of rice.

According to the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, this decision by JGC was not only ‘timely’ but more importantly, illustrates the genius of a Ghanaian entrepreneur, “and we commend Dr. Siaw Agyepong for that.”

“We will back this decision with the various government inter-ministerial financial support in a pragmatic way so that we can encourage more people to take this position that you have taken,” he gave a firm assurance.

Mr. Ofori-Atta made the observation when a delegation of investors from Thailand, led by the Executive Chairman of the JGC, Dr. Joseph Siaw-Agyepong, and the Honorary Consul of Ghana in Thailand, Dr. Sicha Singsomboon, paid a courtesy visit to the Finance Minister on Friday, December 30, 2022.

The association and collaboration between JGC and Thailand rice industry, he continued, was in the right direction, adding that it should trigger transformation of Ghana’s rice sector.

“We shall become exporters of rice and not importers within the period of three years and that is a commitment,” the finance minister optimistically expressed.

Furthermore, he entreated the partners in the Ghana-Thailand rice project to ensure that the collaboration advances production, intensive research, and the knowledge that Thailand brings.

“It should also provide value addition and market linkages and self-sustained models,” he added.

To this end, Mr. Ofori-Atta assured the project of government’s strong support to ensure its success.

“We are resolute and determined to catalyse the operations of businesses such as Jospong Group of Companies to propel the economic transformation and growth of our country,” he underscored.

In the firm view of the finance minister, it was so criminal that for Ghana to have so much arable lands, water, and favourable weather conditions, yet continue to import over two billion dollars worth of rice.

“Since 2017, we’ve spent over a million dollars importing rice. What’s more embarrassing, is that a country like Ukraine exports about 74 million tons of grains despite the current conflict, and you wonder why Ghana and Africa have fallen asleep,” he lamented.

He, therefore, pointed out that this trend must be curtailed, indicating that this was not the legacy the Akufo-Addo-led government would want to leave.

“So let’s continue to promote the private sector leadership and ensure that this becomes a thing of the past.”

He stressed that the Ghana Cares Obaatanpa programme is one key initiative by the government to mitigate the current economic challenges bedveilling the country.

It’s the vision of President Akufo-Addo to use a well-capitalised development bank to push such initiatives, he noted.

In a brief remark, the Executive Chairman of the JGC, Dr. Siaw Agyepong, said venturing into rice production needed skills and the technical knowledge to increase yields, thus the need to woo investors with the right experience and mechanical assets into Ghana.

From the ministry of finance, the Thai delegation called on the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, where the latter assured them of her ministry’s full support to ensure the successful implementation of the project.

She was particularly excited to hear the delegation of Thai investors have plans to set up an organic fertiliser plant in Ghana.

Such a move, she intimated, will help boost agriculture production and also reduce the operational cost of Ghanaian farmers.

Source: Ghana Web

For an economy to thrive, private investors need to pump money into it by establishing businesses in the country.

Some of the money they make goes to the government in the form of taxes.

On the other hand, the citizens gain employment as these businesses are established, and would need persons to run them to witness growth.

What comes to mind when you hear the name Femi Otedola, Dangote? Your guess is as good as mine. These people are labelled as the richest men in Nigeria.

In Ghana, names like Osei Kwame Despite, Jospong, McDan, Ibrahim Mahama, and Sam Jonah are also known as top businessmen in the country.

But did you know that should these business magnates decide not to invest in the local economy, it would be wobbling?

One can argue that these men own chains of companies, support the government, and also solve one of the government’s major challenges, youth unemployment.

Below are the top 5 Ghanaian private businessmen

Ibrahim Mahama

Ibrahim Mahama is a Ghanaian businessman and the founder of Engineers and Planners, the largest indigenously owned mining company in West Africa. He is also the owner of several other businesses in Ghana.

The mining company now employs over 3000 Ghanaian employees. Ibrahim Mahama has also invested in Asutsuare poultry farms, which was started in 2004 and produce 150,000 eggs and 10,000 live broilers a day.

He’s the owner of Dzata Cement Limited. Dzata Cement Company Ltd is touted as the first fully Ghanaian-owned cement processing factory.

The factory is located on about 10 acres of land near the Tema port. The over 200-million-dollar plant is expected to produces an average of 120 bags per minute from its two production lines.

The cement factory has a production capacity of 2.6 Million Tonnes per annum and this is the highest single cement facility in Ghana.

The factory has created five thousand direct and indirect jobs. It has provided employment opportunities for several thousands of Wholesalers and Retailers, across Ghana and the West African sub-region.

The factory commenced operations in August 2021. Osei Kwame Despite is an entrepreneur with a chain of media outlets, including UTV, Peace FM, under the name Despite Group of Companies. He owns Best Point Savings and Loans and has 50% shares in U2 Company Limited.

He also owns Neat Foods Company Limited which produces Neat Fufu, Neat Banku, Neat Abenkwan, Neat Hausa Koko, and Neat dairy products. The famous This Way Chocolate drink is also one of his products. Jospong

Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong is the Executive Chairman of Jospong Group of Companies. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Zoomlion Company Limited.

This serial entrepreneur has employed several people in the sanitation sector. He currently owns Ignite Media; Metro TV, and Original FM/TV. McDan

Business magnate, Daniel McKorley is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the McDan Group of Companies.

McDan Group of Companies is a Ghanaian transportation and logistics company with operations in freight forwarding for land transports, sea freight, air freight and contract logistics.

He owns a private jet terminal at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana. Sam Jonah

Sam Jonah is a Ghanaian businessman and the executive chairman of Jonah Capital, an equity fund based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was previously the president of AngloGold Ashanti and headed about 19 different companies.

His Jonah Capital is the second-biggest shareholder in the pan-African micro-lender, Bayport, and a major shareholder in Houses for Africa, a firm that offers middle-class residential construction projects and financing in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Nigeria.

Source: Ghana Web

Koforidua, Dec. 29, GNA — Ghana Oil Palm Development Limited (GOPDC) has been adjudged the Best Regional Company in the Eastern Region at the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) Quality Awards, for displaying outstanding expertise and perseverance.

The AGI Best Regional Company Award is granted to a company that has demonstrated resilience, competence, ingenuity, and proven leadership in corporate social responsibility, a track record GOPDC has shown over the years.

Mr Charles Okyere Addo, Commercial Manager of GOPDC, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the award has motivated management and personnel at the oil company to provide better quality services to their customers.

He said the company would continue to provide excellent products and services to clients while also providing optimal working conditions for employees to give their utmost, through substantial investment in plant and equipment as well as sustainable agricultural practices.

He said, “This award only recognises what we have always been doing and we are not going to rest on our oars. We can only get better.

“We will continue to provide the best working condition for our cherished employees; providing quality products to support our clients – both locally & internationally and positively impact the environment and the communities within which we operate.”

GOPDC is a fully-owned subsidiary of the SIAT GROUP, a Belgian agricultural investment company with operations in Cambodia, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, and Nigeria.

The company leases two concessions from the Ghanaian government: GOPDC Kwae (8954 hectares) and GOPDC Okumaning (5075 hectares), both in the Kwaebibirem Municipality and Denkyembour District of the Eastern Region, with a total of approximately 9000 hectares of oil palm planted.

GODPC diversified into rubber cultivation in 2012, planting around 771 hectares of rubber trees in the uplands inside its Kwae concession.

Mr Addo further stated that as part of its corporate social responsibility, GODPC has introduced a scholarship scheme in which students are chosen from communities in their operational districts and granted scholarships to study at the higher levels. 

According to him, 27 students benefited from the scholarship initiative in 2022, with a cash package of 100,000 Ghana cedis.

Furthermore, in order to accomplish SDG six, “Access to water and sanitation for all,” GOPDC has installed a mechanised water system for the residents of Kwae, which has a population of over 6000.

He said that manual boreholes had also been drilled to serve the communities of Koka, Afunya, and Adjikpo, and that in 2022, the company supported the people of Kusi with the sum of 110,700 Ghana cedis to complete a nurses’ quarters that was initiated by the community.

In addition, the company provides annual support to traditional Councils, particularly during festivals and other cultural rituals.

GOPDC’s impact on communities has been phenomenal, as it operates an out-grower scheme of over 5000 hectares involving around 4500 farmers scattered over a 30-km radius, generating direct and indirect income for over 50000 people.

During peak seasons, the company employs over 4,000 workers and produces over 35,000 tonnes of palm oil and palm kernel oil per year, with a storage capacity of approximately 21,000 tonnes at both Kwae and Tema harbours near Accra.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, Ghana, 24th December 2022…….As part of the Government’s efforts to address the country’s ongoing economic crisis, on 5th December 2022, we launched a domestic debt exchange pursuant to which we invited (the “Invitation”) certain holders of approximately GHS137.3 billion of principal amount outstanding of certain of our domestic notes and bonds issued by the Government, E.S.L.A. Plc or Daakye Trust Plc (the “Eligible Bonds”) to exchange their Eligible Bonds for a package of new bonds to be issued by the Government (the “New Bonds”).

The terms and conditions of the Invitation are described in an exchange memorandum (the “Exchange Memorandum”) available at https://projects.morrowsodali.com/ghanadde. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein have the meaning ascribed to such terms in the Exchange Memorandum. The Government subsequently announced an extension of the Expiration Date to Friday, 30th December 2022 and the Settlement Date to Friday, 6th January 2023.

The Government today announces its decision to extend the Expiration Date of the Invitation from Friday, 30th December 2022 at 4:00 p.m. (GMT) to Monday, 16th January 2023 at 4:00 p.m. (the “New Expiration Date”). The Settlement Date for the Invitation is now expected to occur on Tuesday, 24th January 2023, or as soon as practicable thereafter, but no later than the Longstop Date which is now scheduled for Tuesday, 31st January 2023, unless further extended by the Government pursuant to the Invitation. The Announcement Date is now expected to occur on or about 17th January 2023.

In addition to the foregoing extensions, the Government announces the following modifications to the Invitation to Exchange, which are set forth in further detail on the Term Sheet attached as Annex A to this press release:

• Offering accrued and unpaid interest on Eligible Bonds, and a cash tender fee payment to holders of Eligible Bonds maturing in 2023;

• Increasing the New Bonds offered by adding eight new instruments to the composition of the New Bonds, for a total of 12 New Bonds, one maturing each year starting January 2027 and ending January 2038;

• Modifying the Exchange Consideration Ratios for each New Bond. The Exchange Consideration Ratio applicable to Eligible Bonds maturing in 2023 will be different than for other Eligible Bonds;

• Setting a non-binding target minimum level of overall participation of 80% of aggregate principal amount outstanding of Eligible Bonds; and

• Expanding the type of investors that can participate in the Exchange to now include Individual Investors.

These modifications will be set forth fully in an Amended and Restated Exchange Memorandum which is expected to be published during the week of 26th December 2022. Conforming changes (including adding and modifying defined terms) in respect of the above amendments and modifications to cure ambiguity, omission, defect, error or inconsistency may be included in the Amended and Restated Exchange Memorandum.

As set forth in the Exchange Memorandum, the Government reserves the right in its sole discretion to extend the timetable for the Invitation at any time and to make amendments to the Invitation at any time. Any Eligible Holders whose Eligible Bonds are held on its behalf by a broker, dealer, bank, custodian, trust company or other nominee must contact such entity if it wishes to participate in the Invitation, as such entities may establish an earlier deadline to receive instructions to tender Eligible Bonds.

In making this decision to extend and the modifications described herein, the Government considered feedback from the financial sector in relation to the need to secure internal approvals. Further, this extension affords the Government of Ghana the opportunity to consider suggestions made by all stakeholders with the aim of adjusting certain measures acceptable within the constraints of the Government’s Debt Sustainability Analysis.

Source: Ministry of Finance

Arsenal coach, Mikel Arteta has revealed that Thomas Partey was left disappointed aftermath of Ghana’s exit from the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Ghana, who were making their fourth appearance at the Mundia were crashed out after losing 2-0 to Uruguay in their final Group H game.

After reporting to the camp of the Gunners, Arteta described Partey’s emotional state as that of disappointment in connection to how this year’s World Cup turned out for Partey.

“He [Thomas Partey]played a lot [at the World Cup]and obviously he was disappointed at the way that he had to leave, but it happens to every nation when they go out, and it takes a few days to reset and start to focus on the team,” Arteta said in an interview ahead of the team’s return to league action on Monday, December 26.

Partey played out the entirety of the duration in all three Black Stars games in Qatar and played 45 minutes in Arsenal’s 2-1 win over AC Milan in a friendly game.

Ghana finished at the bottom of their group with three points.

Source: Modern Ghana