Veep urges Ghanaian businesses to partner foreign companies

The Vice President, Paa Kwesi-Amissah Arthur has urged the private sector to strategically position itself to partner with international investors who are willing to establish their businesses in Ghana.

According to him, a number of foreign companies have expressed interest in entering into joint partnerships with local firms to expand their operations in Africa.

Speaking at the Ghana-China Business Forum 2016 in Accra, Mr. Amissah-Arthur stated that partnering foreign companies to add value to goods produced in the country will improve Ghana’s export earnings.

“It is the interaction between people, businesses, Ghana and China that has contributed to the impressive levels of trade and investment between the two nations”, he said.

He maintained that investment flow from China could be doubled if the private sector is willing to partner with investors in areas such as agro-processing to add value to agriculture products.

“It is in light of the growing trade and the future prospects that is why the government organized this forum. The forum aims to provide the platform for Ghana to present its products and investment opportunities for the Chinese community in Ghana,” he said.

Even though trade volumes between Ghana and China grew substantially in 2015 to  6.5 billion dollars, the breakdown indicates that Ghana’s import from China was around 23 percent of total imports while China’s import from Ghana was 8 percent.

Mr. Amissah Arthur was optimistic the trend could be reversed if Ghanaian businesses are ready to embrace new technologies employed by Chinese firms by partnering with them.

He pointed out that agroprocessing is one major area the government has targeted to grow by inviting foreign investors to participate in that area.

He announced that the government of Ghana is in talks with some Chinese agro-processing companies to move to Ghana to partner with local firms to add value to agriculture products before they are exported.

By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana