Ghana to feature on OBG country reports

Accra, Dec. 1, GNA - Oxford Business Group (OBG), a global publishing, research and consultancy firm, is to compile a comprehensive country business intelligence report on Ghana, covering economic activities and investment opportunities.

The compilation dubbed: "The Report: Ghana 2011" is to serve as a vital guide to the many facets of the economy, including macro-economics, infrastructure, political landscape, banking, tourism, agriculture and other sectoral developments.

It will also feature a wide range of interviews with the most prominent political, economic and business leaders, a detailed sector-by-sector as well as regional guide for foreign investors.

The report will be out in the third quarter of 2011. This follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), and the OBG in Accra on Wednesday. The two institutions are to collaborate to pool resources to undertake the exercise based on the strict rules of objectivity and accuracy of OBG. Mr George Aboagye, Chief Executive Officer of GIPC and Ms Karine Loehman, Regional Director of OBG signed on behalf of their institutions. According to the MOU, OBG's team of six experienced analysts, would within eight months, conduct more than 250 meetings and discussions with leaders of the Ghanaian public and private sectors as well as invite the views of a selection of internationally prominent individuals on Ghana's economic development. "The spread and depth of the research will allow for an analysis beyond the numbers and focus on qualitative trends impacting the core of quantitative data to minimise the deviation caused by incomplete and or unreliable secondary data," it stated. In a statement, Mr Aboagye said the report would be instrumental in helping the country to strengthen its foothold on the global business stage. He said even though Ghana had established herself as an equally prominent economic player and an increasingly important investment destination within the sub-regional, continental and global stage, there was the need to "sustain our economic performance, however, we must ensure that foreign investors have accurate, honest and up-to-date data on the opportunities within the different sectors of the economy". "In today's globalised marketplace, distinguishing a country as a potential investment destination is no easy task.

"The importance of Foreign Direct Investment is increasingly evident to markets around the world, and countries everywhere are seeking to improve their financial incentives and business environments in a bid to attract much-needed foreign capital," he said.

Mr Aboagye said this underscored the collaboration with the OBG, given the comprehensive and objective manner in which OBG analysed the economic performance of emerging markets.

Ms Elise Postigo, Country Director of OBG said the group believed the report would fill an important vacuum in the market by relaying Ghana's economic development and investment opportunities to business leaders across the globe.

She said the report was two-fold; the first concerning Economic Briefings, a bi-weekly analysis on sector-specific topics to ensure an economy-wide coverage with the briefings sent to its local and international subscribers and reproduced on local and regional media. Ms Postigo said in addition, was the flagship made up of a single annual economic document of about 200 to 250 pages, spanning the economy by means of an analysis on the macro-political and economic scene as well as in-depth views of each of the economy's sectors such as banking, transportation, construction, tourism, energy and agriculture. OBG has been in existence for the past 16 years, providing economic and financial information on emerging markets around the world. It has regional offices in London, Istanbul and Dubai, with teams present in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Americas.

Some of the countries it compiled similar reports for in Africa are Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Senegal and Gabon.