Kofi Ahovi

 A cargo of Russian oil is heading for storage tanks in Ghana, a nation that exports crude itself and is on the doorstep of two regional supply powerhouses.  The development suggests that traders could be scouring the market for new buyers of Russian barrels after the European Union stopped almost all seaborne imports from the country in December. The bloc’s measures made Moscow hugely reliant on Chinese and Indian purchases.  The tanker Theseus arrived in Ghana’s territorial waters on Friday carrying about 600,000 barrels of Russian oil from a port in the Black Sea, according to tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Its cargo was due to be pumped into storage tanks in Tema, people with knowledge of the matter said. The last signal from the vessel was on Sunday evening, by which time unloading had not begun. Russia is  under pressure to sustain its oil revenue after the Group of Seven and the European Union imposed punishing sanctions on the country’s energy i...

In fulfillment of government assurance to bondholders who did not tender their old bonds, the Ministry of Finance is taking administrative steps to ensure that payments of coupons and principals of the old bonds resume by March 13, 2023. In a statement, the Ministry, however said the newly issued bonds have been settled and listed and will become the new benchmark bonds for the fixed income market. The Ministry of Finance will work with relevant stakeholders, as agreed, to ensure that these new benchmark securities become the basis for deepening the domestic sovereign debt market”, it pointed out. S&P rating acknowledges successful delivery of new bonds On February 34, 2023, S&P Global Ratings raised Ghana’s local currency sovereign credit ratings from Selective Default (SD) to ‘CCC+/C’. The Finance Ministry said this acknowledges the successful completion of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme with a successful delivery of new securities to bondholders, adding, “In doing so t...

  The Ghana cedi lost about 1.94% value to the US dollar last week to trade at an average of ¢13.0. The local currency closed the week at an indicative rate of ¢11.01/$1 on the interbank market. It also posted a week-on-week depreciation of 1.94% against the pound and 1.83% vs. the euro on the retail market. This was despite increased foreign exchange (FX) support on the market by the Bank of Ghana. Although the Bank of Ghana increased dollar support on the market, it could not tame the demand for the American greenback. The Central Bank also provided about $10.75 million on the spot market last week. Again, the regulator received and allocated $30 million at a 30-day forward rate of ¢12.1203/$1 for the Bulk Oil importers (BDCs) compared to the rate of ¢11.9095/$1 in the previous auction. This showed signals of demand pressures. The cedi is presently going for ¢13.05 to the dollar in the retail market. Meanwhile, analysts are hopeful the successful settlements of the new bonds and ...

  Ghana’s economy is expected to rebound to the 5% bracket from 2024. According to ratings agency, S&P, the economy will expand by 5.1% in 2024 and further to 5.4% and 5.5% in 2025 and 2026 respectively. The rating agency, however, affirmed its 3.0% Gross Domestic Product growth rate for Ghana in 2023, slightly higher than the government’s forecast of 2.8%. For the size of the economy, S&P projected about $68 billion in 2023, same as 2022. The size of the economy is also estimated at $67 billion in 2024 and 2025 respectively. From a high of $79 billion dollars in 2021, the size of the Ghanaian economy has shrank significantly due to exchange rate fluctuation where the cedi lost considerably to the dollar.   For GDP per capita, S&P projected about $2,000 in 2023 same as 2024. It is however expected to fall to about $1,900 in 2025. The GDP per capita stood at about $2,500 in 2021 post Covid-19. For savings to GDP ratio, the rate has been reducing from 19.6% in 2...

  Ecobank Ghana and Bolt have signed a partnership agreement to offer discounts to Ecobank customers who patronize Bolt services and pay with Ecobank cards. Under this partnership, Bolt riders will enjoy a high 50% discount on their first ride and 5% discount on subsequent rides for the next 3 months, provided the rider pays with an Ecobank debit or credit Card. The partnership agreement was signed at a brief ceremony held at the Ecobank Head Office, in Accra. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Dr Edward  Botchway , Executive  Director  and Head of Consumer Banking at Ecobank Ghana said: “We are committed to providing our clients and the larger Ghanaian public with safe, convenient, reliable and accessible mode of payments. It is in this respect that we are entering into this partnership with Bolt to provide our customers with the right platform to facilitate payments for their intracity transportation rides on Bolt.” He said the discounts on offer are intended to red...

  According to  VandaTrack , retail investors are still a force to be reckoned with, adding an average of $1.5 billion each day into U.S. markets. As Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu notes,  this is a record-breaking level of inflows,  which raises the question: what are investors buying? To find out, we’ve visualized the 10 most popular picks of 2023, as of February 15. The Top 10 List Most of the names in this list won’t come as a surprise. They represent eight of the world’s largest and most well-known tech companies, as well as two highly popular U.S. equity ETFs. Looking closer at the numbers, we can see that  Tesla’s  net retail flows of $9.75 billion are greater than all of the other individual stocks combined ($8.5 billion). This is a sign that investors still have plenty of faith in Tesla, even as its market share is beginning to shrink. We recently covered  Tesla’s profit margins  (net profits per vehicle) in a separate infographic. Perhaps...

  CUTS International Accra (CUTS Ghana) and the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) have called for the revision and enforcement of the Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) level in drivers from the current 0.08mg/ml to between 0.02mg/ml and 0.05mg/ml. The call comes on the back of data which indicates that one of the leading causes of road crashes in Ghana is drunk-driving or driving under the influence of alcohol. Such incidents can result in catastrophic outcomes, causing serious injury or even death, as well as significant financial losses. Road traffic crashes are a major health problem globally and cost most countries three per cent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In June 2022, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that approximately 1.3 million people die each year as a result of road traffic crashes. Ghana, in particular, has been grappling with road traffic crashes and is among the African countries with the highest number of incidents. The US Centres for Dise...

 The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has pledged to maintain the legacy of modernising agriculture in the country through budgetary allocation for all agriculture colleges. The move is part of a wider effort to sustain policies like the Technical Education Development for Modernised Agriculture in Ghana (TEDMAG), which has been deemed a success. Speaking at the final stakeholder meeting of the TEDMAG project, Deputy Agric Minister Yaw Frimpong Addo emphasised the importance of maintaining the facilities of agriculture colleges to ensure that they remain functional for years to come. He added that, once the facilities have been upgraded, the ministry will allocate funds for maintenance in its annual budget. The TEDMAG project was initiated by the Government of Canada in 2017 with a budget of 135 million dollars. Its main aim was to revamp the curriculum at agric colleges and complement Ghana’s modernising agriculture agenda. According to Kathleen Flynn-Dapaah, Head of Cooperation a...

  Government Treasury bills sale were oversubscribed by 75% to the tune of ¢5.06 billion. According to the auction result published by the Bank of Ghana, participation of the 91-day T-bill was almost to the tune of ¢3 billion. Indeed, the 91-day and the 364-day bills recorded immense investor participation. Whilst the 3-months received bids of about ¢2.93 billion, that of the one-year bill got bids worth about ¢1.46 billion. All the bids were, however, accepted by the government. For the 182-day bill, all the bids of about ¢665 million were accepted. Meanwhile, interest rates retreated further for the third week running. Whilst the yield on the 91-day T-bill went down marginally by 0.12% to 35.54%, the six months bill also fell by 0.16% to 35.84%. The interest rate on the 364-day bill also stood at 34.12%. Securities Bids Tendered (GH¢) Bids Accepted (GH¢) 91-day 2.93 billion 2.93 billion 182-day 665.99 million 665.99 million 364-day 1.46 billion 1.46 billion       T...

 FOR those old enough to remember Ghana’s economic crisis of 1982/3, the country’s closest to those ugly times came last year. In 2022 when revenue growth flattened and the borrowing window shut, what many expected was an economy without money, where salary payments will delay, imports, including fuel will shrink, businesses and consumers will face shortages, the country will default in its debt repayment and an economic chaos will set in similar to what occurred some four decades ago. But that did not happen. Public sector workers continued to receive their salaries, there was no default while goods and services were readily available to businesses and consumers albeit at ridiculously high and unpredictable prices. This prevented the imminent fuel and consumable shortages and the resulting queues, disorder and the tension that these beget. In between these similar economic periods that produced different outcomes is the role of central banking in times of crises. As lenders of las...

 The Jospong Group of Companies (JGC) and other interested private companies in Ghana’s waste management space have been urged to look at the possibility of investing in recycling of used vehicles. The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, made the call when she received a delegation from Wongpanit Pathong Company Limited, a leading Thailand and global waste management company, at her ministry on Friday, February 24, 2023. The meeting with the minister and the Wongpanit delegation, led by their President, Dr Somthai Wongcharden, was facilitated by the JGC. According to Dapaah, recycling of used cars will be a new area for Ghana’s waste management sector, adding that it holds prospects for potential investors. It will be very interesting for the Jospong Group of Companies and other interested private companies to explore the possibility of investing in the recycling of used cars,” she urged. She was very delighted that the Thailand waste management giant ...

 The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Samuel Abu Jinapor says a total of six forest entry permits have been issued by the Ministry since 2017 to companies to mine in Forest reserves. These companies include Chirano Mining Company Ltd, Honest international company Ltd and Trans Atlantic Logistics Ltd. He however indicated that only two out of the six companies are actually involved in mining while the other companies are still working on obtaining other permits required to commence their operations. Jinapor also added that some companies had already acquired permits to mine in forest reserves prior to 2017. In furtherance of the ministry’s quest to protect the integrity of forest reserves, he indicated that no new licenses have been issued since 2021. He made these comments on the floor of parliament while answering questions from members of parliament.

 Activities of churches and other religious centres in mining communities have been cited for be­ing one of the promoters of early marriage and child labour in the communities, a research report by Solidaridad, an international NGO, has revealed. According to the report, since the teenagers could afford flashy marriages and naming ceremonies, church leaders in mineral commu­nities allow and officiate weddings of persons under the age of 18 and naming ceremonies of children of underage parents. The report further stated that, such social events make illegal mining activities attractive to the teens and the children in the min­ing communities and it had led to a social competition among them. The research, which was con­ducted within a four-month period between October 2022 and January this year, had respondents mainly from Atiwa East District in the Eastern Region as well as inputs from other stakeholders in mining communities across the country. Discussing the report...

 The Ghana Chamber of Mines has commissioned a three storey faculty block worth USD1.1 million at the University of Mines and Technology, built under the Ghana Chamber of Mines Tertiary Education Fund (GCM-TEF). Speaking at the function, the President of the Chamber thanked the Governing Board of the Tertiary Education Fund of the Chamber for their diligent work over the years to ensure that students and faculty members benefit from the Fund. He said that the Chamber launched the Tertiary Education Fund in October 2019 with the purpose of helping build the needed human resource capital for the mining industry. The fund which is directly managed by a Governing Board with membership from member companies of the Chamber and the University has the objective to provide support for; infrastructural development, industry related research of faculty members and postgraduate students, undergraduate scholarships, industry training programmes, internship programmes for fac...

 The upstream petroleum industry has been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons. Arbitration between government and ENI, arbitration between government and Tullow and the cancellation of MOUs signed since 2019, were meant to end up as petroleum agreements. The CEO of the Ghana Upstream Petroleum Chamber, David Ampofo, has been giving some further insights into the various issues. What does the chamber make of the recent news reports on disputes between government and some of your members? Let’s be specific. You are referring to the dispute between ENI/VITOL and government over unitisation and the dispute between Tullow Oil and the Ghana Revenue Authority. Yes, What is the bone of contention between the GRA and Tullow Oil? Tullow has filed for arbitration with the International Chamber of Commerce in London in respect of two disputed tax assessments received from the Ghana Revenue Authority. Tullow considers the two disputed tax assessments a breach of its rights under its ...

 In line with the government’s efforts to build and support Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) to meet the global export market, the management of Ghana Trade Fair Company Limited (GTFCL) is set to host the 27th edition of the Ghana International Trade Fair (GITF) 2023.  The fair, which is scheduled from March 1 to 7, 2023 at the West Hills Mall, is an annual exhibition organised by Ghana Trade Fair Company Limited under the auspices of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The theme for this year’s exhibition is, “Strengthening SME’s: a key to economic recovery”. According to the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Trade Fair Company, Dr. Agnes Adu, building and supporting small and medium-scale businesses to become competitive on the global export market is crucial in the country’s journey to economic recovery.  Our core mandate, which is to facilitate trade and industry through the organization of fairs and exhibitions on behalf of the Ghana government, affords u...

 For the third time, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of Jospong Group of Companies (JGC), Sophia Kudjordji, has been honoured with a Global Women Leader Award 2023. The GWLA 2023 was presented to Kudjordji in Mumbai, India together with 84 women from 15 countries who were also acknowledged. The recipients were from countries including India Laos Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Oman, Ghana. The rest were Qatar, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Maldives, Mauritius, South Africa, Bangladesh and UAE. In total, 85 women were recognised for their contributions in society in areas of communication, sports, Academia, NGO, Government business and military. This year’s (2023) GWLA marked the 10th anniversary of the global women’s awards. At the event, the WWLC also recognised the strategic and influential role of women leaders in the development of the modern economy, technology, and administrative methodologies, aimed at advancing governance and business organisations. It also identified an...

  Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has hinted that a planned high-level government delegation to China has been postponed to late March 2023. This is owing to the upcoming National People’s Congress of China meeting scheduled for early March. However, the Finance Minister said bilateral talks will continue ahead of this important mission. The government is seeking under the G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatment to get debt forgiveness from some bilateral and multilateral partners. Key among them is China, whom Ghana is indebted to the Far East country to the tune of over $1.7 billion. This is compared with $1.9 billion to other Paris Club members. Managing Director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, confirmed in January 2023 that Ghana just became the fourth country to seek treatment under the Common Framework. This sent a signal that it was seen as an important pathway for debt resolution.

 The CEO of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) says it has in consultation with the Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMCs) come up with criteria for the distribution of the next consignment of petroleum products under the Gold for Oil (G4O) programme. Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid said this is to ensure that the impact of the G4O programme is felt by consumers across the country, while addressing the concerns of the AOMCs regarding a lack of clarity regarding the allocation of products supplied under the programme to its members. The criteria take into consideration the top 25 OMCs that distributed petrol and diesel in 2022 with not less than 45 retail outlets across the country. He touted the implementation of the  G4O as it has slightly lowered the prices of petroleum products and reduced forex risk. Speaking at the meet-the-press in Accra on Wednesday, the NPA Boss said the country had received three cargoes so far, comprising 41,000 metric tonnes (MT) of diesel in Ja...

 The government of Ghana through the newly established National Alternative Employment and Livelihood programme (NAELP) has reclaimed over 1000 hectares of land from illegal miners in the Western North. Dr Carol Louise Donkor, National Coordinator of the Programme visited some of the areas being taken care of by Dredge Masters, a subsidiary of the Jospong Group of Companies (JGC). The company has successfully reclaimed 450 hectares of land from illegal miners (popularly known as Galamseyer) in the Western North. Dr Donkor reiterated that The NAELP is aimed at alleviating the hardships of people adversely affected by the activities of illegal miners, and also as part of the government’s efforts to sanitise the mining space. The programme also includes a community mining scheme which presents a module for small scale mining in the country. She said the project will create jobs for over two thousand youths in the affected area through the replantation of the lands. It was against this...

  The Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) has recorded an 87.4 per cent growth in its assets under management (AUM) from GH¢1.7 billion to GH¢3.2 billion within the last 12 months, ending December 2022. The fund recorded an annualised end-year return of 6.13 per cent in 2022. The return was also influenced by foreign exchange volatility and good treasury management of funds. MIIF indicated that the growth was primarily anchored on innovative strategies which led to increase in royalties income, expansion of royalty sources and investment income. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the fund, Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that MIIF mobilised GH¢1.3 billion in 2021 and GH¢1.8 billion in 2022, representing a 36 per cent growth over the previous year, a major factor in growing the AUM. “We have been able to do this because of an inter-agency framework we put in place last year which has seen us collaborating with more agencies,” he said. Mr Korant...

Managers of the J.E.A Mills Memorial Heritage which was established in memory of the late Ghanaian President, to preserve his heritage and legacy have hinted that the outfit has line-up a series of activities to commemorate the first Anniversary of the establishment. In a statement released by the J.E.A Mills Memorial Heritage secretariat, indicated that February 2023 marks one year of the launch of the J.E.A. Mills Memorial Heritage. We are happy to announce, that during its first year of existence, the Memorial Heritage has lived up to its ideals and objectives.  A portion of the statement read. Background In October 2021, a group of academics, professional colleagues, family members, friends, and former appointees of President John Evans Atta Mills conceptualized the creation of the J.E.A. Mills Memorial Heritage. This Memorial Heritage was to be a non-profit, independent, non-partisan charitable organisation, established to promote President John Evans Atta Mills’ unique view o...

 Presidential nominee for Trade and Industries, K.T Hammond has assured that he will work around the clock to ensure that the ‘dying’ Ghanaian textile industry is brought back to life when given the nod.  K. T. Hammond gave the assurance when he appeared before the Appointment Committee of Parliament during his vetting today, Monday, February 20, 2023.   The President’s nominee for Trade and Industry’s assurance came on the back of a question asked by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Odododiodio constituency in the Greater Accra region, Nii Lamptey Vanderpuiye. nominee what will you do differently to ensure that the collapsing Ghanaian textile industry is revived when given the nod? The Odododiodio lawmaker asked. Hammond further explained that the government had made several attempts to ensure the textile industry bounced back.

  The managing director of Cocoa Processing Company Limited (CPC) Nana Agyenim Boateng I has resigned, an official statement has said. No reason has yet been assigned to his resignation. His resignation will take effect from March 21, 2023, the company said in a circular to investors today, Thursday. In circular to the Ghana Stock Exchange on Thursday (16 February), the company said the board has put in place wide-ranging measures to ensure the seamless operations of CPC until a substantive replacement is found. CPC announces for the information of the general investing public, the resignation of Nana Agyenim Boateng I, Managing Director of CPC, effective March 21, 2023. “The Board has put in place wide-ranging measures to ensure the seamless operations of CPC until a substantive replacement is found. The market will be notified before March 21, 2023, of the new Managing Director or the one who will be acting in the position until a substantive Managing Director is appointed.”...