Monday, April 12

Business

China fines Alibaba $2.8 billion after antitrust investigation
11Apr By Enoch Siaw NtiamoahNo Comments
Business

China fines Alibaba $2.8 billion after antitrust investigation

China has hit Alibaba, one of the country’s biggest online retailers, with a record $2.8 billion (18.2 billion yuan) fine, after an investigation found the ecommerce giant violated China’s anti-monopoly law, The New York Times reported. The fine, which represents 4 percent of Alibaba’s 2019 domestic sales, is three times higher than the $975 million fine China imposed on US chip company Qualcomm back in 2015. The Chinese government launched an investigation into Alibaba in December to determine whether the company was preventing merchants from selling their products on other platforms. China’s market regulator found that Alibaba’s practices had a negative effect on online retail competition and innovation. Alibaba used data and algorithms to strengthen its own p...
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Ghana successfully issues US$3 billion Eurobond amidst COVID-19
31Mar By Enoch Siaw NtiamoahNo Comments
Business

Ghana successfully issues US$3 billion Eurobond amidst COVID-19

The government has made a successful debut in the international debt capital markets securing US$3 billion from an oversubscribed bond book value of US$6 billion. Ghana becomes the first Sub Saharan African sovereign to issue a Eurobond in USD since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The country’s consistent ability to raise multi-billion-dollar financing and this pioneering use of a 4-Year Zero tranche is a testament to its hard-won credibility with investors, strong growth prospects and disciplined fiscal consolidation efforts in 2020, a statement from the Finance Ministry said. “Ghana is the first emerging market sovereign to add a zero-coupon bullet tranche to its bond financing portfolio. This is significant as it enables the government to create fiscal space to build t...
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“Business Opportunities From AfCFTA Enormous” – President Akufo-Addo To Spanish Gov’t
30Mar By Enoch Siaw NtiamoahNo Comments
Business

“Business Opportunities From AfCFTA Enormous” – President Akufo-Addo To Spanish Gov’t

The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says a very important plank of the new strategic partnership between Africa, Spain and Europe would be the strong support for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which began trading on 1st January. Speaking at the “Focus Africa 2023” Conference held in Madrid, in Spain, on Monday, 29th March 2021, President Akufo-Addo indicated that the AfCFTA will link all the fifty-four (54) markets of Africa, covering 1.2 billion people, into a single market. “It is the world’s largest free trade area outside of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) itself. By 2050, it will cover an estimated 2.5 billion people, and have over a quarter of the world’s working age population,” he said. The President continued, “Imagine th...
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“Ghana Is A Haven Of Peace, Investments Are Protected” – President Akufo-Addo To Spanish Investors
30Mar By Enoch Siaw NtiamoahNo Comments
Business

“Ghana Is A Haven Of Peace, Investments Are Protected” – President Akufo-Addo To Spanish Investors

“As most of you know, Ghana is a haven of peace, security and stability, indeed, the safest country in West Africa, where legitimate investments are protected. We have witnessed, through the ballot box, three (3) peaceful transfers of power from one political party to another in the twenty-eight (28) year period of the 4th Republic.” These were the words of the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, when he addressed the business community in Spain, as part of the “Focus Africa 2023” Conference in Madrid, Spain. Addressing the business meeting, the President told the gathering that, between 2017 to 2020, his first term in office was spent correcting the fundamentals of the economy which were all pointing in the wrong direction. “We have, o...
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Databank’s withdrawal from Agyapa sign of putting Ghana’s interests first
30Mar By Enoch Siaw NtiamoahNo Comments
Business

Databank’s withdrawal from Agyapa sign of putting Ghana’s interests first

Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 7 December 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections and former President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, on multiple campaign platforms ahead of the December 2020 elections, pledged to cancel the Agyapa Gold Royalties deal of the ‘Akufo-Addo led NPP 1’ government. The basis for the threat to cancel the deal should he win the December 2020 general elections, was because of “suspected conflict of interest” on the part of Finance Minister designate, Ken Ofori-Atta, due to involvement of Databank, a mutual fund and investment company he co-founded over thirty (30) years ago, as transaction advisors. The ‘Agyapa’ deal is essentially aiming at the monetizing Ghana’s gold royalties through the dual lis...
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Domino’s Pizza, world’s largest pizza company, set to launch in Accra
23Mar By Enoch Siaw NtiamoahNo Comments
Business

Domino’s Pizza, world’s largest pizza company, set to launch in Accra

With over 17,100 pizza outlets across the world, global pizza brand Domino’s Pizza is set to commence operations in Accra with the first two stores set to open in the capital. The stores will be situated at the start of Oxford Street in Osu, and on the corner of Boundary Road & Spintex-Legon Underpass in East Legon. Domino’s Pizza is being brought to Ghana by Fire Foods Africa, a leading platform for QSR brands in Sub-Saharan Africa, as its exclusive Master Franchisee for the country. Fire Foods Africa is co-owned by the Chanrai Summit Group, one of West Africa’s leading conglomerates in the supply chain sector, and K Hospitality Corp, one of India’s largest home-grown foodservice and hospitality companies. Customers can sign up for exciting pre-launch giveaw...
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G7 Finance Ministers decision to back SDRs for poor developing and COVID vulnerable countries commended
22Mar By Enoch Siaw NtiamoahNo Comments
Business

G7 Finance Ministers decision to back SDRs for poor developing and COVID vulnerable countries commended

The meeting of the committee of experts of the Conference of African Ministers ended Friday with experts pledging to do more to accelerate the implementation of the AfCFTA. They will also help to improve domestic resource mobilization, deepen digitalisation and accelerate the implementation of the SDG 2030 and 2063. Dr Vera Songwe, the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), welcomed the move by the G7 Finance Ministers to support the issuance of new Special Drawing Rights (SDR) to help developing countries better respond to the COVID 19 crisis.   The Ministers agreed to support a new SDR allocation to assist vulnerable countries to respond adequately to the health and economic crisis triggered by the pandemic. “This is a very important and strateg...
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ECA supports leveraging AfCFTA to drive digital trade in Africa
22Mar By Enoch Siaw NtiamoahNo Comments
Business

ECA supports leveraging AfCFTA to drive digital trade in Africa

The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is making significant progress in supporting African countries to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) to drive digital trade on the continent. Madam Daya Bragante, Head of the Sub-Regional Initiatives Cluster in the ECA’s East Africa Sub-Regional Office (SRO-EA), said this at the ongoing 39th ECA Committee of Experts of the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development monitored by the Ghana News Agency. The presentation focused on the implementation of resolutions of the 52nd session of the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, and the 2020 extraordinary meeting of the Bureau of the Economic Commission for Africa. Madam Bragante noted that th...
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MTN MoMo customers to present ID cards for cash-out transactions
17Mar By Enoch Siaw NtiamoahNo Comments
Business

MTN MoMo customers to present ID cards for cash-out transactions

MTN MobileMoney (MoMo) Limited has announced that effective April 2,2021, all MoMo customers will be required to present valid ID cards for MoMo cash-out (withdrawal)transactions. A statement issued in Accra and copied to the GNA by Mr Samuel Koranteng, the Corporate Services Executive of MTN, said per the directive, customers were expected to present any of the following ID cards – Ghana Card, Driving License, Passport, Voter’s ID, and NHIS. It said all MoMo agents would be required to select the ID type and enter the ID card number presented by the customer before the transaction could be completed and that without a valid ID card, MoMo cash-out transactions could not be processed. Mr Eli Hini, the General Manager of MobileMoney Limited, said, “The enforcement of this direc...
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Ghana Government begins processes to raise US$5.0 billion on international capital market
10Mar By Enoch Siaw NtiamoahNo Comments
Business

Ghana Government begins processes to raise US$5.0 billion on international capital market

The Government has commenced processes for the 2021 International Capital Market Funding Programme. The Programme is to raise US$5.0 billion to support growth-oriented expenditures in the 2021 Budget and to conduct liability management of both Eurobonds and Domestic Bonds. A statement issued in Accra by the Ministry of Finance said the Programme instruments would consist of Eurobonds, Diaspora Bonds, Sustainable Bonds, and Syndicated/Bridge Loans. It said Government was in the process of mandating Bank of America, Citi Bank, Rand Merchant Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Standard Bank as Lead Managers for the Programme.  The statement said one of the key mandates for the Banks was to advise the Government on various alternative funding structures and options, especially f...
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