Ghana ranked 6th in investment attractiveness in Africa – RMB report
Ghana, in Rand Merchant Bank’s (RMB) ‘Where to Invest in Africa 2021’ report, outperformed its West African peers to rank sixth place in investment attractiveness on the Continent.
Ghana, per its new ranking, emerged as the top destination in the subregion followed by Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Nigeria.
Assigning reasons for the country’s ranking, RMB – the corporate and investment banking arm of FirstRand Bank Ltd – asserts that Ghana entered the current Covid crisis on a relatively stronger footing than its African peers with its economy managing to avoid a recession in 2020 and registering growth of 0.4% outperforming SSA economies which contracted by 3.2% on average.
RMB, also adds that Ghana’s economy has seen major shifts over the past few years with the major shifts supported not only by primary-sector industries like oil and gold but also accelerated development in the tertiary sector thereby positioning the economy for significant growth going forward.
“We see the construction, agriculture, and services sector as the main catalysts for strong 4.2% average growth between 2022 and 2023,” noted RMB in its report.
“This year, the economy has shown a steady recovery, with the GDP print in 2Q21 at 3.9%, supported by performance in both the secondary and tertiary industries. Over the next few years, oil production output will pick up in the near term, supported by higher oil prices that should encourage further oil exploration in Ghana. There are similar expectations for gold production, which is further supported by government efforts to curb illegal mining activity, thereby promoting the formal sector,” it added.
RMB Africa Economist Daniel Kavishe, commenting on the report, noted this year’s report assesses the extent of the pandemic’s impact by sketching the landscape of the continent pre-Covid-19, and then painting a picture of both its actual and potential outcomes through and post-pandemic.
“We created a new set of rankings that incorporated some unavoidable Covid-19-induced challenges, of which the operating environment score was one,” he said.
The report also included an appraisal of governments’ ability to support their various economies during such periods. As such, a fiscal score was also part of the methodology. This, says Kavishe, was essential because “fiscal scores are important indicators of how governments respond to COVID-19.”
For Ghana, the next few years will centre on government’s ability to consolidate fiscal spending over the next few years, undoubtedly necessary to alleviate the country’s debt burden.
Overall, the report further explored key themes emanating from Africa’s developmental aspirations. “Of these, three are central to fighting the pandemic and resuscitating economic conditions,” contends Kavishe. “They are the government intervention, a focus on our triple-threat sectors, and healthcare.”
Commenting on the report in Ghana, the Chief Executive of First National Bank, Dominic Adu said, “Ghana has done remarkably well navigating the tough Covid-19 environment. We are very pleased to be leading the pack in West Africa in terms of economic recovery, with expected GDP growth of 4.1% in 2022. Now is definitely the time to invest in Ghana.”
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