Business Analyst - June 16

Thursday, June 16, 2022
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Bawumia inaugurates GCB
Bank's first North East
Region branch in Nalerigu
THE Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu
Bawumia, has opened the first
north East Region branch of the
Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB-
Bank) in nalerigu, the capital of
the newly-created north East Region.
The opening of the bank, marked an historic
moment in nalerigu, as the fast-developing
northern town also got its first-ever
bank.
The branch is also GCB Bank's 185th
branch in the country.
Speaking at the commissioning of the
bank in nalerigu on Tuesday, June 14, Vice
President Bawumia said the historic opening
of the GCB Bank in nalerigu is one of the direct
benefits of creating the new region by
the government of President akufo-addo.
Dr. Bawumia, who expressed delight at
the opening of the bank, said one of the governance
vehicles the akufo-addo government
has deployed to ensure inclusive development
for all, regardless of location is decentralization,
adding that the creation of six
new regions is accelerating and expanding
development to communities, such as the
historic opening of a bank in nalerigu.
"This singular initiative to create six new
administrative regions, including the north
East region, has not only expanded development
but also created a new sense of nationalism
and inclusivity," Dr. Bawumia said.
"In the north East region, for example, we
have seen how the creation of the new regions
has brought a renewed focus, and many
developmental projects are being executed in
the region.'
"The establishment of the first branch of
the Ghana Commercial Bank in the north
East Region is one of such developments that
decentralization brings," he stressed.
Dr. Bawumia noted that a well-functioning
financial system, like the GCB, is fundamental
to a modern economy, noting that the
opening of the bank in nalerigu will boost
economic activities, as it will offer financial
solutions to petty traders and farmers within
nalerigu and surrounding communities.
"They (banks) allocate funds from savers
to borrowers to maintain the pulse of our
economy. If banks fail to perform, the economic
consequences are far-reaching and severe.
When they succeed, the opportunities
are endless."
"From today, the petty trader and smallholder
farmer in nalerigu and its catchment
communities will have access to a range of financial
solutions because GCB is here."
The Vice President commended GCB for
their decision to establish a branch in nalerigu,
and he also urged them to consider
opening branches in districts without banks
in the country.
on behalf of the President and the Government,
Dr. Bawumia also congratulated the
Board, Management and Staff of GCB Bank on
the bank's 69th anniversary.
Ghana 7th best
African country
• For Entrepreneurs
in 2022
a new report compiled by
the CEoWoRLD magazine
has placed Ghana 7th best
african country out of 10
to become an entrepreneur.
The Entrepreneurship
Index evaluates a total of
100 economies based on a
wide range of factors to
create an overall “best
countries for entrepreneurship”
index, including
innovation, competitiveness,
infrastructure, labour
skills, access to capital, and
openness for business.
according to the report,
South africa tops the
local ranking for the best
african countries to be an
entrepreneur. With a
highly-skilled workforce,
competitiveness and openness
for business, the
country has the secondlargest
economy in africa,
after nigeria, and is also
unarguably the most industrialised
nation in sub-
Saharan africa.
South africa placed
48th out of the 100 countries
accessed globally
with Ghana placing 77th.
Here are the top 10
most entrepreneurial
countries in africa according
to CEoWoRLD magazine
Entrepreneurship
Index, 2021.
South africa
Rwanda
Morocco
Kenya
nigeria
Tunisia
Ghana
Botswana
Cameroon
Egypt
Fuel prices to go up
by over GH¢1 per litre
IT is obvious the woes of
fuel consumers are not
yet over. This is because
the price of the commodity
is expected to
increase by about 12 per
cent in the next pricing
window of June 2022.
This would mean
that the average price of
fuel is likely to increase
by about GH¢1.33 per
litre.
While petrol prices
are projected to go up by
GH¢1.24/litre which is
an 11.41% increase, the
price of diesel may increase
by GH¢1.43/litre
depicting a 12.93% increase.
The latest press release
by the Chamber of
Petroleum Consumers
Ghana (CoPEC), explained
what is accounting
for the
anticipated price hikes.
“Current Crude
prices are at $124.96/barrel,
resulting in
processed Petroleum
Products of $1,451.25/MT
of petrol and
$1,289.97/MT for diesel,
• COPEC hints
coupled with further depreciation
of the exchange
rate of
$1:GH¢8.0483 and the
government’s applicable
tax rebate of 15 pesewas
per litre still in place till
the end of June 2022”.
The average price of
petrol and diesel at the
pumps currently stands
at GH¢12.282 after selling
at about GH¢6.5
in January.
This was after
petrol and diesel
crossed the GH¢10
and GH¢12 per litre
marks this month.
already, there
are hints of another
likely increment in
transport fares
after an earlier increment
by 20 percent.
What could be
the way forward
with the situation
as there is no end
in sight with global
oil prices continuing
to soar?
Head of Research at
CoPEC, Benjamin nsiah,
recommended that
“Tema oil Refinery
must be retooled, recapitalised
and equipped
with efficient managers
to make the entity start
operations and be profitable.
We also must diversify
our imports
within the short and
medium term. This
means we need to begin
to explore other countries,
refineries and
traders that will give us
cheaper products compared
to what we are
getting now from the
European and arab
areas”.
“The Ministry of
Trade, finance and the
Bank of Ghana need to
implement a coordinated
plan to help the
cedi appreciate against
the dollar. When these
three measures are put
together within the
shortest possible time,
we believe the price of
fuel will reduce
soon,” he added.
Even though
petrol and diesel are
expected to go up,
the narrative might
be different for LPG
as it’s expected to
experience a marginal
decrease in
price, the statement
added.
“LPG is also
likely to sell around
GH¢10.024/kg showing
a reduction of
about 27 P/kg (-
2.66%) over the previous
window.”