Inbound investments increase by 30% to $829m

Ghana’s economic fortune has increased with $874.01 million worth of investments recorded from 122 projects for the first half of 2021.

This comprises US$829.29 million Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) and US$44.72 million local investment.

The FDI amount represents an increase of 32.15% compared to US$ 627.52 million recorded in the same period last year.

Within the first half of the year, 27 completely Ghanaian-owned projects with an estimated value of US$669.64 million were registered. Existing companies contributed a total of US$11.56 million in extra equity (cash and goods).

The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) attributed the growth to the country’s attractiveness as an investment destination despite the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy.

The services sector of the economy was the highest in performance, registering 63 projects at an estimated value of US$ 597.63 million. It was followed by the manufacturing sector with 24 projects at a value of US$98.74 million.

While general trading recorded an FDI value of US$41.87 million, building and construction had US$22.63 million worth of investment in the first six months of the year.

The centre noted that with operations at full capacity, the projects could generate 8,931 jobs, thereby improving aggregate employment.

According to GIPC data, 8,091, representing 90.59% of these positions, would be for Ghanaians, while the remaining 840, which is 9.41%, would be for non-Ghanaians.

 

Ghana’s largest investment partners for the period were Singapore with US$307.50 million, Australia with US$204.01 million, India with US$61.57 million and the Netherlands bringing in US$46.80 million. Both the United States and China also made large investments.

Some notable projects registered from April to June 2021 include the $53 million by Star Cement Limited, the $40 million project by Siemens Energy SAS, and $7 million by Kraft Works Company Limited.

Others are Xu Gong Ghana Machinery Company Limited, $4.3 million; Textile Trico Manufacturing Company Limited, $4 million; Crumb processing Ghana Limited, $3.9 million; Goldstone Akrokeri Limited, $3.8 million; and Instant Payment Solutions, $3.6 million.

Regional distribution

With respect to the distribution of projects, nine regions gained from the dispersion of the 122 projects.

Greater Accra area surpassed all other regions with 96 projects, accounting for 78.69% of all projects filed.

The other recorded projects were eight in the Ashanti and nine in the Western regions,

Bono, Central and Eastern regions had two projects each, while Ahafo, Northern and Upper West regions recorded a project each.

Global outlook

Ghana’s positive half-year FDI performance has varied marginally from the globally anticipated slowdown in FDI flow.

The investment centre has attributed this to activating the GH₵100 billion Ghana Covid-19 Alleviation and Revitalization of Enterprises (Ghana CARES) programme.

In addition to this is a timely roll-out of several government incentives, which prompted a quick recovery of the Ghanaian economy.

Ghana has chalked these gains despite the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) observation that the pandemic has significantly impacted global FDI flows.

Global FDI decreased by a third to $1 trillion in 2020, considerably below the 10-year trough experienced during the global financial crisis.

However, UNCTAD has anticipated that global FDI flows would likely recover in 2021, with a 10 to 15% growth.

The pace of economic recovery and the probability of pandemic relapses, as well as the possible impact of recovery spending packages on FDI and policy pressures, are all elements that would also influence investment prospects.

GIPC innovation drive to record better investment

Meanwhile, GIPC has expressed optimism about maintaining an upbeat performance while moving forward in a new and innovative way.

This, the centre hopes to achieve by reviving international investment as a conduit for economic growth through aggressive engagement with the international investor community and the organisation of the first Annual investment summit dubbed “Spark up 2021”.

Furthermore, attracting investments under the Ghana CARES initiative would continue to be a priority to the GIPC to guarantee that the country’s economic recovery is inclusive, with benefits flowing to all sectors of the economy.

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