Investments concentrated mostly in Accra

Foreign Direct Equity Investment into Ghana is mostly concentrated in Accra, with Greater Accra Region alone accounting for over 65 per cent of projects.

According to a draft report on Foreign Assets And Liabilities and Investors Perception in Ghana, the region in 1999 and 2000 attracted 660.4 million dollars and 482 million dollars worth of investment, twice more than Western and Ashanti Regions, which are the next two high ranking in the league of regions with large investments.

The National Task Force for Monitoring Private Capital Flows Project in collaboration with Development Finance International launched the project to monitor private capital inflows into the country.

The workshop was to disseminate findings of the survey conducted between October 2000 and November 2002 to build a comprehensive database on foreign private capital flow into Ghana.

The report, which was discussed at a workshop on Wednesday to allow for inputs from stakeholders, attributed Greater Accra Region's success to location of most companies' head offices in Accra and not necessarily enterprises operations.

"This, therefore, means that while it is true that Greater Accra is the major region of Ghana's economic activity, the regional distribution of foreign investments as indicated in the results may not be a true reflection of the distribution pattern of FDI," it said. In this direction, the report called for further information and data on the distribution patterns of companies in order to guide government's regional policies.

Mr Albert Quartey of the Bank of Ghana, who presented the findings at the workshop, said lack of infrastructure such as electricity, water and good roads could be some of the limiting factors discouraging companies to locate their operations away from the capital.

He said it was important to facilitate the provision of such facilities to ensure balanced distribution of enterprises throughout the country.

Mr. Kwasi Abeasi, Chief Executive Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, said getting investors to relocate outside Accra was the main thrust of the centre's strategy but was being hindered by operational difficulties.

He, however, expressed the hope that every effort would be made to succeed in that direction.

In a speech read for him the, Dr Paul Acquah, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, said the country had attracted more than one billion dollars in FDI flows into the country.

He said the survey would provide the necessary database for monitoring the flow of capital into the economy.

Mr Nils Bhinda, Programme Manager at Development Finance International, said the survey initiative sought to establish a sustainable institutional framework of public and private sector stakeholders.

It is also to develop and maintain a database on private capital and investor perception and provide information to donors to help them to define their priorities and allocate funds.