Chinese and Ghanaian businessmen meet

Accra, April 18, GNA - The Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC) would soon open an office in Shenzhen, a sub-provincial city of Guangdong province in southern People's Republic of China, situated north of Hong Kong, to facilitate business opportunities between China and Ghana, Mr Robert Ahomka-Lindsay, the Chief Executive Officer said on Friday.

He said China was source of direct investment for Ghana and her investment cut across a wide range of areas including the energy, hospitality, industry, manufacturing and mining sectors. Mr Ahomka-Lindsay was speaking at a business interaction session between a China business delegation from the China-Africa Business Council (CABC) and Ghanaian businessmen in Accra.

The 63-man delegation under the leadership of Mr Hu Deping, president of CABC, is on a four-day business tour to seek investment opportunities in Ghana and other parts of Africa. The tour is under the auspices of the China Society for Promotion of the Guangcai Programme and the CABC.

The CABC is a joint project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Ministry of Commerce of the China and the Guangcai programme established in 2005 to deepen the economic relations between China and Africa, particularly with regard to investments.

Mr. Ahomka-Lindsay mentioned the energy, mining, infrastructure, industry, tourism and ICT sectors as some of the areas in the economy that Ghana would like China to invest in.

"We are aware that China wanted to enter the African market in a productive way and we are taking this opportunity to invite them to see Ghana as a gateway to Africa," he added.

He, therefore, urged them to capitalise on the large trade opportunities in Ghana to establish manufacturing plants, especially textiles industries, to seal the friendship between the two. Mr. Hu said the CABC was a private sector driven non-political, non-governmental organisation (NGO), with strong public sector support, aimed at establishing a strong and enduring Public-Private Partnership, set the platform for the Chinese Government and private sector to meet and discuss ways to further strengthen economic relations between China and Africa, among others.

He said it was a two-level mechanism that worked on the one hand alongside government departments, and on the other as a practical business tool to assist Chinese and African companies to further their interests and achieve greater success in investment and trade objectives.

Mr. Hu said apart from the energy sector his country was ready to do more business with Ghana in other areas, especially in agriculture and tourism.