Accra, Nov. 19, GNA - Ghana was named as one of the major beneficiaries of United States recent three new funds for Africa which promises the continent of over 750 million dollars for the strengthening of African Financial market.
Other countries mentioned included Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Egypt, Angola, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Liberia, Gabon and Madagascar. The three separate funds namely the Africa Catalyst Fund (ACF), the Millennium Global African Opportunity Fund and the Atlantic Coast Regional Fund would help African nations to strengthen their financial market through the creation of several new private equity fund by the US Overseas Private Investment Cooperation (OPIC) Launching the project in Accra on Monday, Mr. Henry Paulson Junior, US Treasury Secretary said Ghana was selected among the countries to get the lion's share of the initiative because of her sound economic and good governance foundation.
He said African leaders were doing tremendously well
in their economic progress since most of them were taking their
economic future in their own hands. Mr Paulson said: "African governments are currently
doing all that is necessary to attract foreign direct investment." Briefing the media, Mr Robert Mosbacher Jnr., Chief
Executive Officer, OPIC said the corporation has already
committed up to 250 million dollars to support the three funds. He said under the ACF, OPIC will provide 100 million
dollars which would be invested in a portfolio of Mezzanine
Finance, exchange traded and private equity, exchange traded
corporate debt, convertible bonds and private loans to provide
growth capital in Africa. He said the fund has a target capitalisation of 300
million dollars. Under the Millennium Global African Opportunity
Funds, Mr Mosbacher said 100 million dollars would be invested
in a variety of investment products, which included corporate
bonds, convertible bonds, subordinated debts, sovereign debts
and preferred stock and exchange traded and private equity. This fund, which also has a target capitalisation of 300
million dollars, would invest in sectors such as natural resources,
telecommunications energy, infrastructure, financial services and
manufacturing. For the Atlantic Coast Regional Fund, which has the
target of 150 million dollars, Mr. Mosbacher said the investment
would be done in companies within West and Central Africa in
the transportation, manufacturing, agri-business, financial
services, mining and natural resources. Mr. Mosbacher announced that OPIC was considering
a proposal to establish for the first time, in its history, an
investment vehicle that provided both social and economic
benefits by creating a private equity investment fund designed
specially to improve African employment, health and over well
being through profitable investments in African companies. He said OPIC operates in over 150 countries.
