Foreign investors freeze investments to Ghana over EPA delay

Some foreign investors have revealed to Citi Business News, they have been forced to freeze capital investment into Ghana, following government’s delay in signing the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU).

Majority of exporters in Ghana have warned they will be forced to halt operations in the country if  Ghana’s fails to sign onto the EPA.

Chief Executive Officer of Thailand-based producer of seafood-based food products, Thai Union Elisabeth Fleuriot told Citi Business News ‘about 2000 people plus their families and the suppliers and so on is basically 10,000 people that we are talking about which today don’t have the feasibility of the future and don’t know what will happen to their jobs.

Now if the 20% increase on export will happen yes we will have to relocate the plant from Ghana to countries where is more favorable, it might be in our network, it might be in Ivory Coast may be in Ecuador that is basically what we are looking at’.

Failure by government to sign onto the deal will lead to a 19.4 percent tariff increase on exports to EU.

Citi Business News has learnt countries such as Ivory Coast in the interim have begun moves to get such companies to set up operations in their country following the development.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show the group Chief Executive Officer of Thailand-based producer of seafood-based food products, Thai Union Elisabeth Fleuriot said the development has increased anxiety among staff of the company who fear possible layoffs as the group has cut its yearly investments to Ghana.

‘We have started freezing capital investment running into some 6 million dollars in Ghana in 2016 because they are not clear on the future plus other issues of cost. This is because we need to prepare for any uncertainty in the future for our business here in Ghana.’

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By:  Vivian Kai Lokko/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana