AGI awaits provisional banking licence
The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) is awaiting a provisional license from the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to establish a bank that will take care of the needs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
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The bank, to be known as the AGI SME/Industrial Bank, is to help propel AGI’s development and that of SMEs and the industry as a whole in the years ahead.
But pending approval, the association has initiated the operation of an Industrial Development Fund to be converted into a fully fledged industrial bank.
The President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Mr James Asare-Adjei, disclosed this at the 57th annual general meeting (AGM) of the association on Wednesday, November 8, in Accra.
“The idea of establishing a bank was first mooted during the tenure of my predecessor. Every effort was made to have it established and subsequently engaged consultants to help with the preparation of the necessary documentation which was duly sent to the central bank,” he said.
He explained that investor interest in the Industrial Development Fund was fast gathering momentum, with financial commitments from the private sector into the initiative totalling US$20 million so far.
However, he said, the association was open to work with the government in its quest to convert the National Investment Bank (NIB) into a fully fledged industrial bank.
“The AGI is very ready to partner the government to set-up an AGI/government industrial development bank through NIB,” the president added.
Stimulus package
He called on the government to release the stimulus package earmarked for local companies in distress.
“We want to see clear support from government for industries that want to operate under the initiative. Budget provisions for the initiative must be released on time to ensure effective implementation,” he said.
He explained that the stimulus package was another bold initiative of the government.
“Again, we call on the government to release funds that have been earmarked for this initiative as per the 2017 budget statement and additional provisions in the 2018 and subsequent budgets.
We appreciate fast implementation of various initiatives, and we urge the government to give priority to the industry-related initiatives since that is the real economy with taxes and sustainable jobs,” he said.
Govt’s commitment
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Alan Kyerematen, said the government was embarking on an ambitious agenda for economic reform and industrial transformation in the country.
He said the government presently sought to deal aggressively with the fundamentals for stabilising the macroeconomic environment, without which the private sector could not grow.
That, he said, included controlling inflation and interest rates, introducing fiscal discipline by rationalising public expenditure, while optimising the government’s revenue and at the same time, controlling domestic borrowing.
According to Mr Kyerematen, that will ensure that the private sector is not crowded out of the financial markets and also help reduce the country’s foreign debt commitments to sustainable limits.
“We are also strengthening the private sector by shifting our economic policy focus away from taxation to incentivising production,” he said.
In that regard, he explained that the government at the beginning of the year announced tax cuts affecting 10 different taxes amounting to over GH¢1billion.
The minister stated that these reforms and others were designed to make the country the most business friendly in Africa.
“As a government, we recognise that a stable macroeconomic environment is necessary but not sufficient condition for economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction.
The government has also introduced a comprehensive programme for industrial transformation that is anchored on 10 pillars. Our vision is to make Ghana a manufacturing hub in Africa,” he said.