Economist, Professor Godfred Bokpin
An Economist, Professor Godfred Bokpin, has cautioned that government must exercise care in its bid to attract foreign investments while safeguarding the interests of local businesses.
His comments follow President John Dramani Mahama’s announcement to Japanese investors that government intends to revise the minimum capital requirement for foreign companies seeking entry into the Ghanaian market.
“We should go more on the path of joint ventures and partnerships so that we also benefit from advanced technology.
“Typically, we are in a hurry to attract FDI. It is good, but we need to manage it well so that we don’t cause dislocations in other critical aspects of the economy in the name of attracting FDI. We also need to carefully consider the level of tax concessions or tax expenditures we are willing to incur in the name of attracting FDI,” he said, as quoted by Citi Newsroom.
Ghana to scrap minimum capital requirement for foreign investors – President Mahama
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Seth Twum-Akwaboah, has indicated that his outfit will engage government extensively on its decision to scrap the minimum capital requirement for foreign investors.
According to him, local businesses remain open to foreign partnerships, particularly in light of Ghana’s recent economic rebound.
He stressed that AGI will seek further clarity on the proposal.
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“As a country, we are still nurturing infant industries. If you look at Dubai and others, they began with measures requiring local content to attract investment while also giving some level of equity to their indigenes. Today, they have scrapped most of those measures.
“When you are starting to develop critical sectors of the economy, you need an arrangement that brings indigenes into the fold. I believe partnerships between foreign investors and local businesses will be very important. For that reason, in our earlier engagements with government, we discussed some of these issues. I am confident that when further discussions take place, the matter will be put into proper context and everyone will understand government’s intent,” he was quoted by Citi Newsroom as saying.
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