The take-off of the series of discussions organized by the Bank of Ghana with the leadership of universal banks and forex bureau operators in an effort to halt speculation and stabilise the foreign exchange market is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Graphic reports that in an effort to halt speculation and stabilise the foreign exchange market, the Bank of Ghana will hold a series of discussions with the leadership of universal banks and forex bureau operators, starting today.
The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, who made this known at a press briefing in Accra yesterday, said it was envisaged that the crucial meeting would ultimately ensure that measures were put in place to streamline, sanitise and provide clarity on the supply chain of the foreign exchange market.
That, he noted, would ensure that traders who needed foreign currencies for legitimate transactions would have access to them at official rates.
The Information Minister said the engagements would also help provide knowledge to traders and other entities as to where to look for foreign exchange in order to prevent them from dealing with black marketers who bought the currencies, hoarded them and sold them above the prevailing rates.
The briefing was to update the media on the steps the government was taking to address the economic challenges, key among them being how to stabilise prices in the foreign exchange market.
This is the latest briefing Mr Nkrumah is providing on the economy since January.
“We will also be looking at some of the longer lasting measures to ensure that the forex trade is stabilised in this country even as we expect a lot more of forex inflow following the completion of the syndication of the Ghana Cocoa Board transaction,” Mr Oppong Nkrumah noted.
The newspaper says that the authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have announced a visa ban slapped on Ghana and 20 other African nationalities seeking to visit Dubai with immediate effect.
Other countries affected by the visa ban include Uganda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Cameroon, Nigeria, Liberia, Burundi, the Republic of Guinea, Gambia, Togo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Benin, Ivory Coast, Congo, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Comoros, and the Dominican Republic.
In a notice issued to trade partners including travel agents, authorities indicated that all applications should be rejected.
“This is to inform you that we will not be posting 30 days visa applications for these nationalities effective today, October 18, 2022,”.Any applications from the above-mentioned countries will be sent back or cancelled,” a report that cited a notice from Emirati authorities has directed
No reason was given as to why UAE had taken the decision, but sources said the move was aimed at keeping away African nationalities who had taken advantage of the visit visas to overstay in the UAE.
Many people, especially Africans seeking to work in UAE, mostly in Dubai have in the past been using the 30-day visit visas as a scapegoat to stay in the country.
It is said that after applying and getting a visit visa, one then flies to the country as a visitor but uses this time to look for a job.
It has also been said that many on visit visas end up overstaying in the country illegally while working without legalizing their stay in the sand dunes country.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the Bank of Ghana’s decision to purchase dollars from mining and oil companies, inadvertently reducing forex availability within the inter-bank market is one of the reasons behind the falling value of the cedi, Global leader in financial services and US firm, JP Morgan has said.
In its Emerging Market Quick Take on Ghana cedi’s performance, it said the Bank of Ghana’s purchase of dollars from mining companies had resulted in a squeeze in the Foreign Exchange (FX) market.
It said in a bid to accumulate FX reserves, the Bank of Ghana recently announced plans to purchase dollars from gold and oil mining companies.
These mining companies, it said, were previously allowed to convert FX earnings into local currency via commercial banks.
The report said while the new FX purchase policy was only a few months old, it had shifted FX away from the secondary market, thus resulting in increased FX pressure.
“In the meantime, the central bank has not increased the size of its fortnightly FX forward auctions, where it continues to sell US$25m, despite receiving demand amounting to US$100m per auction. To reduce volatility, we believe the BoG may need to use proceeds from mining sector FX purchases to increase interventions, or alternatively, reverse the FX purchase policy,” it said.
According to the report, since the policy was implemented, the central bank reports that it had purchased around US$84mn as at end-September and expects to have purchased US$500mn by year-end.
“FX reserves have been drained at a breathtaking pace. Gross international reserves have declined to US$6.6bn as at end-September, from US$9.7bn at the start of the year. However, net reserves have declined at a faster pace, reaching US$2.7bn in September, from US$6.1bn in January,” it said.
At that pace, it said gross reserves would have declined to US$5.6bn by the end of this year (US$1.6bn for net reserves), although disbursement of the US$1.1bn COCOBOD syndicated loan should provide a boost to FX reserves.
“Furthermore, the Bank of Ghana’s decision to purchase most dollars from mining companies may have dampened confidence further and could result in a further acceleration of dollariSation and outflows by residents,” it said.
It also warned that the probable debt restructuring of Ghana’s debt would further weaken the Ghana cedi, even if an increase in Foreign Exchange Forward Auction ceases or reversal of the FX purchase policy results in short-term respite for the cedi.
It also said the loss of confidence domestically had resulted in a significant drain from the financial account, even though portfolio outflows have been relatively limited.
“The cedi has now weakened by around 60 per cent against the US dollar this year, as uncertainties about the need for, and extent of, debt restructuring increased.”
The newspaper says that Young Ghanaian Entrepreneurs require support system, access to finance and access to market to expand and for their businesses to thrive, Country Head of Mastercard Foundation, has said.
According to her, young Ghanaians were entrepreneurial and innovative, and with support they could build their own businesses.
Ms Fynn stated this at the Youth Economic Forum 2022 in Accra yesterday.
Under the theme “Youth Voices and Action for Economic Growth, Resilience and Employment, it formed part of the Ghana Economic Forum being organised by the Business and Financial Times.
This year’s Ghana Economic Forum is on the theme “Achieving Robust and Resilient Economy through Technology, Finance, Investment, Trade and Entrepreneurship.”
Ms Fynn said the youth had big ambitions and willing to put in hard work to create a shared prosperous future for themselves, their peers and community.
“Everywhere we look, we see youth agency at work and their collective effort is driving transformation in many sectors including agriculture,” she said.
Earlier in a panel discussion on agribusiness, the panellists, the Chief Executive Officer of Oceans Mall Company Limited, Caroline Pomeyie and the Chief Executive Officer of Maku Food and Company Trading Limited, Caroline Amanor, indicated that high cost of capital was a challenge to SMEs and Start-Ups in the country.
They called for tax incentives and holidays for SMEs and Start-Ups for their businesses to thrive.
They also called for waivers on import duties for SMEs and Start-Ups to support the growth of their businesses.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Business and Financial Times, Dr Godwin Acquaye, in his remarks, said, the Youth Economic Forum was part of the 3-day Business and Financial Times Ghana Economic Forum.
He said the objective of dedicating a day solely for the youth, was to better amplify the opinions/voices of the youth and give impetus to their ideas.
GIK/APA