Trade Minister urges Chinese businesses to comply with laws
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Kwabina Tahir Hammond, has urged Chinese businesses to comply with the country’s trade laws and standards.
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He said while the country was determined to attract the needed foreign investments to drive growth, it would not abandon its laws and standards to realise that objective.
Mr Hammond was speaking to a gathering of Chinese business community in the country as part of a mutual prosperity partnership dialogue series in Accra last Friday.
Present at the meeting were the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, the Ambassador of China in Ghana, Lu Kun, a former Ghana Ambassador to China, Edward
Boateng, and the Board Chairman of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Tony Oteng-Gyasi.
The rest were the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Yoofi Grant, and the Chairman of the China Enterprises Chamber of Commerce in Ghana, Yang Qun.
Standards
Mr Hammond also said it was important that Chinese manufacturers complied with standards in the country, the same way they would want standards in China to be adhered to.
He said for some time now, the government had been overwhelmed by the level of abuse of the country’s standards, particularly by some Chinese cement manufacturers, leading to the closure of their factories.
“It is a sad reflection that as many as three Chinese manufacturers who were reported to my office had been producing substandard cement, and when I intervened, they went on to do worse,” the minister said.
Mr Hammond said a business regulatory framework would be promulgated so that businesses would know exactly what to do in a conducive regulatory environment.
In line with that, he said a Business Regulatory Reforms Bill would be sent to Parliament this year for approval.
“We will invite you to increase your direct investment in the country; we want more Chinese to visit our country,” he added.
Conducive environment
The Minister of Finance, Mr Ofori-Atta, said the government had created a conducive environment for doing business in the country and had also attracted more foreign investment to help expand the economy and create jobs and prosperity.
He said bilateral trade volumes between Ghana and China had reached an unprecedented high of $10.2 billion, while the country’s exports to China surged by 60 per cent.
The minister said the discussions, part of which would be held behind closed doors, would help both sides to understand each other and also enable the government to address the concerns of Chinese-led businesses and investments in the country.
“I want Ghana and Chinese companies to be working together to advance our mutual interests, a true sign of a successful partnership,” he added.
Support
Mr Lu Kun said due to the peaceful atmosphere in the country, more Chinese entrepreneurs and investors were attracted to do business in Ghana.
He said China would support the government to build a strong regulatory framework that would be beneficial to both businesses and governments.
Mr Kun entreated the government to protect legitimate Chinese businesses and investments in the country.