BUSINESS

The United Nations (UN) Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) has said the gross domestic product (GDP) in developed countries will plunge 5.0 percent by mid-2020. The World Economic Situation and Prospect (WESP) report has also noted that the output of developing countries will shrink by 0.7 percent. “The global economic outlook has changed drastically since the launch of ...

Ghana’s debt stock has shot up to 236.1 billion cedis from 219.2 billion cedis for the first quarter of 2020, according to new figures by the Bank of Ghana. The increase means that Ghana has added 16.9 billion cedis between January to March of 2020. The figures contained in the Central Bank’s Summary of Economic and Financial Data represents an ...

The Ghana Tourism Authority has announced that drinking bars in the country can begin operation while observing the social distancing guidelines in the wake of COVID-19. The authority also indicated that all hotels can operate as normal “subject to the specified elevated hygiene protocols and social distancing”. It however noted that night clubs will remain closed. The GTA made this ...

The Country Representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Ghana Dr. Albert Touna Mama has said that economic figures are generated from reports and that one needs to read full reports to understand different economic figures which have been presented. Speaking on Joy FM’s news analysis programme News File on Saturday to clarify allegations of falsification of figures to ...

The total volume of cargo handled by the country’s two seaports, Tema and Takoradi, has been predicted to drop by some 0.5m metric tonnes in the first quarter compared to a year ago, as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to restrict trade and wreak havoc on global supply chains. According to the Ghana Chamber of Shipping, the figure represents a 15 ...

The data published by the IMF on the macro-fiscal situation of Ghana is the true state of the Ghanaian economy, Business School Lecturer, Professor John Gatsi has said. According to him, whiles Ghanaians know the fiscal deficit to Gross Domestic Product in 2019 to be 4.5%, the Fund knows the true state of the budget deficit in 2019 as 7.5%. ...

The Ministry of Finance has said widespread reports that it shared different figures with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and to Parliament in the process of contracting the US$1 billion rapid loan facility are false and misleading. In a statement issued by the official website of the ministry, www.mofep.gov.gh said, “Our attention has been drawn to a publication by fact-checkghana.com ...

A total of 5.06 billion cedis has so far been paid to customers of the non-banking financial institutions in the country which had their licences revoked by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) for being insolvent. The customers are from the 347 microfinance companies, 39 micro credit companies, 23 savings and loans as well as finance house companies whose licences were ...

Some freight forwarders in Takoradi, Western Region, have picketed the Customs division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) demanding a suspension of the UNIPASS payment system and a restoration of the GCNET system. In their view, the UNIPASS system is a disaster. An importer, Henderson McCarthy, illustrated their frustration thus: “All we are saying is that if I have a ...

Despite closure of the country’s borders to help curb spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), some foreigners have been maneuvering into the country to conduct illegal businesses through border posts with Cote d’Ivoire in the Bono Region. The situation has heightened fears and anxiety among residents in communities like Sampa, Nkrankwanta, Kofibadukrom and Gonokrom along the Ghana – Cote d’Ivoire border on ...