BoG must enhance regulation of foreign exchange market – Soalihu

The Bank of Gha­na (BoG) needs to enhance its regulation of the foreign exchange market and elim­inate illegal operators in order to foster the stability of the Cedi, the Managing Director of Intra­venous Infusions PLC, Moukhtar Soalihu, has said.

He also highlighted the im­portance of the BoG tightening the regulatory framework of the forex market to restrict access to foreign currency for individ­uals and businesses that do not require dollars for export, import, or other essential purposes, thereby alleviating pressure on the Cedi.

In an interview with the Gha­naian Times, following the com­pany’s presentation during the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) series in Accra on Wednesday, Mr Soalihu noted that despite im­provements in the country’s trade balance over the past four years, this positive trend should have contributed to the stability of the Cedi, which has not occurred.

Mr Soalihu stated that there was a significant inclination among individuals possessing surplus Cedis to exchange them for foreign currencies as a means of preserving value, primarily due to the Cedi’s depreciation.

“This conversion frequently occurs through unregulated for­eign exchange bureaus and black market operators, resulting in artificial shortages,” he said.

The Bank of Ghana, he said, must ensure that individuals not engaged in importation or expor­tation should have no justification for holding dollars in Ghana, whether in bank accounts or in their residences, as this practice exerts undue pressure on the Cedi.

The Managing Director of II­PLC further said the depreciation of the Cedi posed a substantial challenge for businesses within the country.

On the performance of the IIPLC in the 2023 financial year, Mr Soalihu said the company recorded a strong increase in reve­nue by 54.3 per cent to GH¢31.42 million in 2023, following a 10 per cent revenue decrease in 2022 financial year.

Moreover, he said the increase in revenue was attributed to de­liberate pursuit of new strategies and policies aimed at maximising revenues and efficiency, driven by improvement in cost controls.

“The revenue growth rate achieved coupled with prudent management of costs resulted in turning the losses of GH¢3.5mil­lion recorded in 2022 into a profit before tax of GH¢3.3million in 2023,” Mr Soalihu stated.

The MD of IPP highlighted that retained earnings increased by 242 per cent compared with a decline of 77 per cent in 2022, adding that shareholders’ funds increased by 17.2 per cent relative to a decline of 19.2 per cent in 2022.

The Managing Director of Ghana Stock Exchange, Abena Amoah, com­mended IIPLC for its sterling per­formance and putting measures in place to increase its current production of 3.2 million units of infusions to meet the national need of 7 to 8 million units of infusions