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05.09.2012 Business & Finance

American Investors Look To Ghana

By Charles Benoni Okine - Daily Graphic
Mrs Heather Brynes R being interviewed by Charles Benoni Okine of Graphic BusinessMrs Heather Brynes (R) being interviewed by Charles Benoni Okine of Graphic Business
05.09.2012 LISTEN

The ease of doing business in the country has made Ghana an attractive destination for foreign investors, including those from the United States of America.

From the position of 104th in 2006, the country has moved to the 63rd position, according to the recent World Bank report on the Ease of Doing Business in Ghana. This has been described by the Commercial Counselor at the United States Embassy in Ghana, Mrs Heather Brynes, as a remarkable feat which needs to be improved.

“If you look across the continent the only country of the next ranking is Cape Verde which is an island with half a million people and it is 119; The others are in the 130s and it is no coincidence that when companies look at the region to wanting to do business, they come to Ghana”, she added.

The USA ranks second in terms of value of projects registered in the country and fifth by number of projects, according to results released by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) for the second half of the year.

The GIPC said since 2009, there had been an increase in the number and value of USA investments in Ghana.

For instance, in 2009 there were 12 projects registered in the country with a total value of US$6.97 million, increasing to US$108.3 million from 20 projects at the close of December 2011.

Among the major investors and the sectors in which the US companies invested in include; Kosmos and Halliburton, oil and gas industry; Coca Cola in the beverage industry; Newmont, in the mining sector; General Electric in the area of power; Cummins Ghana Limted in heavy duty power generating machines; Citi Bank Ghana, financial services; Google Ghana, IBM and CSC Computer Systems Ghana in the ICT sector.

For the sectorial breakdown, there are 20 companies in the agricultural sector with a face value of US$59,213,037.

In the building and construction industry, there are 14 American projects with a total estimated value of US$59,294,474 while in the area of manufacturing there are 29 projects valued at more than US$2 billion.

The services sector has 96 projects at a value of US$244.1 million with the tourism sector having 30 projects at value of US$24,092,537

In the last four years, according to Mrs Brynes, General Electric (GE) has moved to Ghana while IMB, HP, Google, Trimble, Cummins among others have put in tremendous investments in the country.

Cargill, Mrs Brynes said, has invested heavily in the country because of the stability in the country “and would not do so when they do not believe in the democratic credentials”.

“US companies have an excellent track record for involving local Ghanaians in leadership and capacity building and some of the companies that have been doing well are GE, IMB and Cargill, they all have people who are originally Ghanaians in leadership positions and all three have done a lot by bringing in young people and training them for leadership positions”, she added.

CHALLENGES
In spite of the business environment, the cumbersome land tenure system, poor road infrastructure, lack of adequate power supply, poor sewerage systems and urban water systems are issues that need quick and postive attention, Mrs Brynes stated.

She said when these challenges are addressed it would make Ghana a much better investment destination for not only American companies but for other investors from other countries as well.

Mrs Brynes admitted to these challenges but noted that it was undoubted that in spite of these challenges, the investment inflows have been on the ascendency in the last three years.

She was of the view that the inflows can be better if government keeps track of the measures put in place to address the challenges.

“Ghana has enviable democratic credentials, rule of law and a vibrant media which is making it an attraction to investors of which the United States business people are included” she said.

She acknowledged the efforts of the government to increase the power generating capacity in the country and described the move as laudable, saying “if we talk about adding value of our raw materials before exports, it is necessary to have the power to do so and we hope that when that is addressed, the processing we see done will increase”.

There are other challenges but Mrs Brynes said the American investors have a lot of confidence in the Ghanaian system and continue to explore the opportunities available.

On trade, she said over the last five years, trade between the two countries has increased by 220 per cent, a situation she described as significant and a demonstration of the confidence level the Americans have in Ghana.

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