Invest in Ghana 2011 seminar opens
The “Invest in Ghana 2011” seminar to strengthen linkages between the Ghanaian private sector and their foreign counterparts to ensure a sustained economic growth, opened in Accra on Wednesday.
The two-day seminar, organised by Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), will focus on strengthening linkages between Ghana, potential investors and already existing foreign investors in the country.
The seminar on the theme: “Partnerships for Sustainable Economic Growth: The Role of the Domestic Investor”, will feature three parallel sessions on agriculture and agribusiness, energy, oil and gas, tourism, infrastructure, financial services, information communication technology, and industry and skills development.
The final day is devoted solely for one-on-one meetings to offer investors the opportunity to meet profiled and advertised project sponsors.
President John Evans Atta Mills in an address read on his behalf by Ms Hanna Tetteh, Minister of Trade and Industry, said this was an opportune period to invest in the country and assured the business community of interventions and measures being implemented to safeguard their interests.
He said issues to be discussed cut across major sectors of the economy which required much needed investments to ensure sustainability of the country’s development programmes to fulfill the “Better Ghana Agenda”.
President Mills said government recognised the importance of attracting and retaining Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and its contribution to the country’s economic development efforts and pledged government’s continued commitment to adopt measures that would make Ghana a competitive investment destination.
“We have therefore supported measures aimed at improving the legal and regulatory framework for doing business, strengthening the financial sector, access to land, streamlining the business registration and licensing systems, reforming customs administration and taxation, as well as developing infrastructure and institutional reforms,” President Mills added.
He said “In line with government’s interest in ensuring a conducive environment for investment, the Investment Code, which already offers attractive investment incentives, is being reviewed to make it even more investor friendly to enhance the business environment”.
Mr George Aboagye, Chief Executive Officer of GIPC, said the operational performance of the Centre since 2009 had revealed a growing trend in investments and joint ventures, registering projects quarterly with a value of about $1.5 billion.
He said “These results point to the fact that the Centre’s activities are yielding positive results and I am confident that this seminar will provide further opportunity for local investors having been prepared through the Sensitisation Workshop for Joint Venture collaboration to engage potential partners for fruitful discussions and eventual partnerships”.
Mr Ishmael Yamson, Board Chairman of GIPC, said there was the need to strengthen fundamentals such as investment in education, infrastructure and human resource to give more confidence to investors who want to invest in the country.
He observed that despite the challenges, the country had made remarkable progress in good governance and stability, resulting in sustained economic growth and called on investors to invest in the country.
Meanwhile, GIPC has launched “The Report: Ghana 2011”, a comprehensive country business intelligence report on Ghana, covering her economic activities and investment opportunities.
It was prepared by Oxford Business Group (OBG), a global publishing, research and consultancy firm.
The report would serve as a vital guide to the many facets of the country’s economy, including macro-economics, infrastructure, political landscape, banking, tourism, agriculture and other sectoral developments.
It also features a wide range of interviews with most prominent political, economic and business leaders, a detailed sector-by-sector and regional guide for foreign investors.
Source: GNA