Kofi Ahovi

By Kofi AHOVI The Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS), a subsidiary of the Bank of Ghana, is set to launch the new cheque clearing system to be known as Cheque Codeline Clearing (CCC) system, into the banking industry this month. However, the implementation of the system will take effect in August, this year. The electronic-based system, which will replace the manual system of clearing cheques, is to facilitate and reduce delays in the cheque clearing process. When it becomes operational, the CCC will almost eliminate the manual interbank cheque exchange that only allows banks about three working days to give customers access to the funds for withdrawal. It will take a maximum of eight hours to clear cheques under the new system. The cheque code-line clearing and the e-zwich money transfer are part of reforms being made by the Central Bank to make Ghana a cashless economy. In a process of removing the paper cheque from the clearing process called truncation, both s...

By Kofi AHOVI The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) has begun remote trading on the Ghanaian bourse. This means that stockbrokers can now trade directly from their offices without coming to the trading floor. The introduction of the remote trading will boost activities on the Ghanaian bourse, as well as investor confidence on the capital market. As part of the GSE’s effort to, among other things, improve liquidity and efficiency on the market, in 2007, it embarked on a project to automate its trading processes. Three systems were put in place, namely Electronic Trading system, Electronic Clearing & Settlement system and a Central Securities Depository. The Exchange’s Depository commenced operations in November 2008, enabling investors to open securities accounts to deposit their shares. The System allows investors to transfer, pledge and access security information in a more efficient manner. The new electronic trading system makes it possible for stockbrokers to trade from three differen...

By Kofi Ahovi The International Financial Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, have signed a loan agreement for US$100 million with Kosmos Energy, one of the key partners developing Ghana’s Jubilee Field, to help meet the nation’s gas project for its domestic power demand. IFC’s senior and junior loan tranches are part of a US$750 million debt package for US-based Kosmos Energy that IFC helped mobilize, primarily from commercial banks. Earlier this year, IFC signed a $115 million loan agreement with British Tullow Oil, another key Jubilee partner, bringing IFC’s support for the project to US$215 million. Kosmos Energy and Tullow Oil are independent oil and gas exploration and production companies. The project, located in deep water some 60 kilometers off the coast of Ghana, will produce domestic crude oil, generating foreign exchange income for the country and substituting expenditures for oil imports. It is also expected to boost government revenues, providing much ne...

By Kofi Ahovi UT Financial Services Limited (UTFSL), arguably one of Ghana’s most successful non-bank financial companies has finally entered into the Nigeria business arena, West Africa’s most populous nation. After growing and expanding since its inception in 1997 to cover almost all of southern, the middle part of Ghana, the company is ready to meet the needs of the people of Nigeria with its services and products which help to improve the lives of people. UT Nigeria started operations in May this year and is currently running ahead of schedule. It has a portfolio of US%1.4million and a client base of 40 to 50 in this short period of operation. However it staff strength stands at 13 made up of half Ghanaians and half Nigerians. Speaking to the Director of Operation of (UTFSL), Budu Koomson he asserted that “Our outlook is Nigeria is very bright”. Koomson assured that the company will break even by the end of the third quarter of this year. He attributor the greatest challenge of ven...

By Kofi AHOVI UT Insurance, a subsidiary of UT Financial Services (UTFS), is expected to receive its license from the National Insurance Commission, the statutory regulator of the insurance industry before the end of this year. According to Budu Koomson, Director of Operations of UTFS, the commission is certified with the proposal submitted by the company, but it is only waiting for the reconstitution of its board which was dissolved as a result of a directive from the government. Koomson hinted that venturing into various aspects of business is in fulfilment of making UTFSL a one stop shop in the country. UTFSL has posed a competitive challenge in whichever business discipline it ventures into. Recently it acquired majority shares in BPI bank and has transformed its financial outlook. Currently, there are about 39 insurance companies in Ghana. In a related development, UT Bank, formerly BPI, has posted marginal gains in June, this year as against its previous bad performance which war...

By Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Paul Kagame, Seretse Khama Ian Khama and Abdoulaye Wade* Just three weeks after President Barack Obama's triumphant return from Africa, the real challenge to achieving strategic change lies in Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's own upcoming visit. Left unsaid as the president boarded Air Force One is the fact that Africa seeks not patrons but collaborators who will work "with" rather than "for" the continent. If the Obama administration wishes to truly make a difference, it must do so as an equal partner, addressing several low-cost, high-impact priorities. To start, developed partner countries must curb corruption abroad. Efforts by African governments to strengthen democracy and governance are weakened if money stolen from the continent can find safe havens in secret accounts in the West. Chillingly, major OECD countries have yet to prosecute a single defendant for fraudulent and corrupt practices overseas. Poorly enforced inter...

The managing director of Stanbic Bank, Alhassan Andani, has said that the global financial meltdown presents an opportunity for Ghana and other African countries to diversify the pillars of their economy. He said the services industry is rife with opportunities which must be explored. Andani, speaking in an interview in Accra after the launch of Stanbic Bank’s new global advertising campaign, said the crisis presents countries such as Ghana the opportunity to enter the services sector on a greater scale, since, irrespective of how the global economy tilts, such industries are not seriously hit. He said a re-focus on the “little things” are what will ensure the positive growth of the economy. “Shipping, customs inspections, ship repairs or dry docking, telephony, health services, airline ticketing and other services are far better than just common merchandizing. These are areas where the global crunch can’t hit; they are where we should be concentrating on as a country and blend it with...

By Kofi AHOVI The National Agricultural Fund (NAF) Bill is expected to be presented to the Minister of Food and Agriculture this week, who will then present it to cabinet for scrutiny and approval. After it is approved, it will be forwarded to parliament for passage or otherwise. The establishment of the fund is to support all aspects of agriculture, which is the largest contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The fund will be managed by the Ghana National Agricultural Fund Corporation, which will be set up after the law is passed. The corporation will have decentralized offices at both the regional and district levels. The initiative to establish the fund became necessary due to the unwillingness of banks to lend money to farmers because of the high risk associated with farming, which has resulted in a huge gap between credit demand by farmers and supply. Also, agricultural production is peculiar and seasonal, hence requires specialized financial services, which the...

The youth in the country have been urged to position themselves very well to benefit from the oil find. They were further advised to build their capacity in fields of their interest to equip themselves for the oil booty since there are opportunities for all disciplines. At a two-day workshop on oil and gas under the theme: ‘Opportunities and threat for the youth,’ organized by the Youth Network for Human Rights and Democracy (You-net), in collaboration with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), the executive director of You-net, Prosper Hoetu, observed that as young people who will be victims or beneficiaries of policy decisions being made with respect to the exploration and management of the oil, it was prudent to build the capacity of the youth to enable them to engage with stakeholders in the management of oil to secure a better future for them. The participants were introduced to topics like “political economy of oil; the global perspective, oil and gas explorations in Ghana: opportu...