The plan by South Korean automobile manufacturing companies to set up new assembly plants in Ghana for the production of Korean cars in the country is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Graphic reports that South Korean automobile manufacturing companies are planning to set up new assembly plants in Ghana for the production of Korean cars in the country, according to the Speaker of the Korean National Assembly, Kim Jin-Pyo.
He said the move was in response to the Ghana government’s automotive development policy aimed at making Ghana a fully integrated and competitive industrial hub for the automotive industry in the sub-region.
In a courtesy call he paid on the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, on Wednesday, October 13, Mr Jin-Pyo said: “I hope that all goes well with these projects and I would like to ask for your kind support.”
“I hope that based on what we have achieved in our cooperation, we can continue to encourage Korean companies to make investments and have bilateral trade with Ghanaian counterparts.
“I also hope Korean and Ghanaian governments would work together more closely to create an environment conducive for more Korean companies to make investments because Korean companies have extensive experience in the fields that serve the interests of Ghana’s economic development,” he said.
The closed-door meeting, which took place on the margins of the ongoing 145th Inter-Parliamentary Union assembly in Kigali, was used to discuss many mutually beneficial issues that bothered on improving bilateral relations, maritime security, expansion of Ghana oil refinery capacity, Ghana-Korean Parliamentary Friendship Group, among others.
The Ghanaian delegation at the meeting was the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu; the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu; the Clerk-to-Parliament, Cyril Kwabena Nsiah; the Head of the Speaker’s Secretariat, Richard Acheampong, and the Director of Protocol at Parliament, Sheba Osei.
The Korean delegation included three members of the Korean National Assembly, Kim Tae-nyeon, Jin Sun-mee and Yu Eui-dong.
Mr Jin-Pyo noted that Korea and Ghana established formal diplomatic relations 45 years ago and in many different ways, Ghana had become its key partner in West Africa.
The newspaper says that the Ghana cedi has become the world’s worst-performing currency after it lost 45.1 per cent of its value to the US dollar this year.
According to Bloomberg, Ghana’s currency depreciated 3.3 per cent today to 11.2750 per dollar.
The media company said the cedi’s poor performance against the dollar was the worst among 148 currencies that it was tracking.
The cedi has switched positions with the Sri Lankan rupee, which is now the second worst performer with a 44.7 per cent drop to the dollar this year.
In July this year, Ghana started engaging with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout to restore macro-economic stability.
Ghana is hoping to receive up to $3 billion in loans for over three years under the IMF arrangement to boost its finances and support the balance of payments.
Apart from the Ghanaian cedi, other African currencies that have depreciated rapidly against the dollar in recent months include Nigeria’s naira and South Africa’s rand.
The Graphic also reports that the Council of the Ghana Stock Exchange (Exchange) has appointed Abena Amoah as the new Managing Director of the Exchange.
Her appointment takes effect from November 24, 2022.
Ms Amoah will take over from Ekow Afedzie, the current Managing Director, who will retire from the Exchange on November 23, 2022, after 32 years of stellar and transformational service.
A release issued in Accra said “Ms Amoah, who joined the Exchange as Deputy Managing Director on August 1, 2020, has been in the capital market industry for more than 24 years and is highly respected for her technical knowledge, business acumen, outstanding professionalism and integrity.
Her experience covers stock market listings and trading, mergers and acquisitions advisory, investment research, asset management, private placement of equity, debt and hybrid instruments, large infrastructure project development, business start-ups and incubation, public education on investment and financial matters, and capital markets development.
It said she had previously worked with the Blacktvy Group LLC; Renaissance Group, where she was CEO of NewWorld Renaissance Securities Ltd and Head of Investment Banking & Finance in West Africa (ex-Nigeria) for Renaissance Capital; and Strategic African Securities Led, where she was Executive Director.
She is an alumna of the University of Ghana Business School.
She has also undertaken academic and leadership studies at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Harvard Business School and the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business.
The Ghanaian Times says that the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) led by the CEO, Mrs Sarata Conatey met with experts from the Africa Consultative Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretariat in Accra.
The consultative meeting held at the Accra International Conference Centre was as part of the European Commission project “Promoting investment in culture, creative arts and sports to enhance resilience against climate change in the local community” to support the growth of Cultural Goods and Arts sector in Gambia and its exports to the EU market.
Mrs Sarata Conateh, disclosed that handicraft and traditional sports, specifically the traditional wrestling, were being leveraged to contribute to community tourism in The Gambia and to enhance the livelihoods and income of local craftsmen.
The investments protocols being aimed at by the synergy between the GCCI and AfCFTA will cover support to the handicraft market, enhance trade in services and also support the regulatory protocols for the culture and creative arts industry.
Ms Beatrice Chaytor, Head of Trade in Services for the AfCFTA welcomed the delegation and mentioned that the AFCTA were engaged in the intensive trade and services negotiation.
She said further that ECOWAS had been providing community level rules that intersect with trades, services and the telecom industry.
The five priority sector of the ECOWAS negotiations are business services, communication, financial, tourism and transport.
Mr Gibriel Bah, Regulatory Expert and Consultant to the project emphasised the importance of a harmonised regulatory framework to the growth of the Cultural & Arts sector not only in Gambia but across the ECOWAS region to maximise the sector’s contribution to the economies of the region.
Speaking at the event, Mr Desire Loumou, the Senior Expert in Trade in services said that, enhancing continental trade was one of the objectives of AfCFTA.
Amongst the Gambian delegation was Mr Gabriel Bah, the Project Consultant and Regulatory Expert, Chris Addy-Nayo, a Trade Expert, Mohammed Saigne, Business Development Officer of the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Mrs Fatou Saigne Gaye, the Ceo of Gaye Njorro Foundation and Skills Academy in the Gambia.
The newspaper reports that Ghanaian students in Russia have been advised to prepare in advance for evacuation following signs of a possible war outbreak in the region.
According to the National Union of Ghanaian Students – Russia Chapter (NUGS-Russia), preparation for evacuation was necessary due to rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
A statement signed and issued yesterday by Derrick Yamoah Gyasi, President of the Union, said, recently, there was missile attacks in some territories of the Russian federation where Ghanaian students study specifically, Belgorod.
Fortunately, it said, all the students in Belgorod were safe and sound even though there were reports of some level of prevalent unrests, fear and panic.
The statement therefore asked students to specifically prepare a portable pickup bag with their passports, school documents, snacks, first aid and other important effects in waiting.
It directed the students to request for transcripts of their academic records and other academic particulars from their universities.
It further asked the students to preserve, secure themselves and seek for immediate assistance as well as comply swiftly with all future embassy directives.
GIK/APA