Author: Bobbie Osei
-
Local banks must fully fund cocoa syndicated loan in future – Hackman Owusu-Agyemang
Board Chairman of COCOBOD, Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, has urged local banks and financial institutions to strategically position themselves, so they are able to fully provide the loan COCOBOD needs to purchase cocoa beans in the not too distant future. Since the 1992/1993 cocoa crop season Ghana’s cocoa sector regulator, has been signing syndicated loan facilities with…
-
COCOBOD secures $1.3 billion syndicated loan; first tranche expected by October 10
Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Joseph Boahen Aidoo says the first tranche of the newly signed $1.3 billion syndicated loan facility which will cater for the purchase of cocoa beans for the 2020/2021 crop season should hit their accounts by October 10, 2020. The agreement for the loan was signed in Accra…
-
BoG Governor justifies conversion of bonds to cash to pay defunct MFIs, S&Ls’ customers
The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison has justified the recent decision by government to release an amount of GHS3.56 billion in cash, to fully settle claims of depositors of defunct Microfinance companies, Savings and Loans firms and Finance Houses, instead of sticking to the original plan to pay that amount using…
-
We’ve put enough measures in place to stabilize cedi – BoG Governor
Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison has expressed confidence in the ability of the local currency to continue with its impressive streak of relative stability in the short to medium term. Compared to the 9.3 percent decline in the value of the Cedi against the US Dollar in the first nine months…
-
Bank of Ghana maintains policy rate for 3rd consecutive time at 14.5%
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana has maintained the policy rate at 14.5 percent after a similar decision in May and July of this year. This makes it the third consecutive time the policy rate has being maintained in 2020. The rate is of keen interest to businesses, as it signals the…
-
Ghana’s debt stock up by GHS43.5 billion
Ghana’s total debt stock has gone up again. According to the latest Summary of Macroeconomic and Financial Data from the Bank of Ghana, the total public debt stock which started the year at GHS219.6 billion, saw an accumulation of GHS43.5 billion in seven months. This brings the total debt at the end of July 2020…
-
Farmers welcome new Cocoa Producer Price but call for protection of trees
The Concerned Farmers Association of Ghana has welcomed President Nana Akufo-Addo’s announcement of a 28 percent increase in the farmgate price of cocoa, for the upcoming 2020/2021 crop season. It, however, said more attention needs to be given to other pressing needs of cocoa farmers. The increase in the Cocoa Producer Price, which represents the…
-
Lending rates dropping but not fast enough – MSMEs
Despite the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) remaining at 14.5 percent for the better part of 2020, average lending rates of commercial banks have not dropped low enough for many stakeholders. According to the Summary of Economic and Financial Data released by the Bank of Ghana in May this year, Commercial Banks started the year lending…
-
Fruit retailers lament drop in sales after initial Coronavirus-induced boom
About six months after the initial spike in demand and clamour for fruits of all types, to boost the immune system of Ghanaians to ward off COVID-19, some retailers of fruits say they have experienced a surprisingly significant drop in sales. Even though there was an increase in purchases in the first few weeks after…
-
Tax Justice Coalition decries uncertainty in Ghana’s tax policies
The Tax Justice Coalition, a Civil Society Organization, has called for predictability in government’s tax policies, citing the recent reduction in the Communication Service Tax (CST) from nine (9) percent to five (5) percent as disruptive to business planning. The CST also known as “talk tax”, was first introduced in 2008 at an ad valorem…