Euro has not impacted on business - GUTA

The business community said on Monday that the introduction of the Euro, a single currency for the European Community, had not impacted on their daily activities.

Paa Kofi Ansong, Spokesman of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), told the Ghana News Agency "there has not been much difference on business scene since the introduction of the Euro. Doing business with the Euro is a matter of simple conversion."

He said most of their transactions were quoted in dollar equivalent from the importing country and at port of entry adding "this makes it easier for us." ''Everybody in the business community understands the conversion system and transfers money at the banks in dollar equivalent'', he said.

Paa Kofi Ansong said next to the dollar was the British pound and the Duestch mark with which businesses were transacted. Any other currency was converted to the dollar equivalent.

"Our business partners are in tune with the conversion system and the dollar factor and find it portable and easy to handle," Paa Kofi said, adding that the Euro would rather have an impact in Francophone countries that transacted business with currencies that had had to be withdrawn.

He said the Euro was rather absent at the forex bureaux, where travellers changed only dollars and the pound sterling but the banks were responding well to the needs of the business community.

Mr Larry Yirenkyi-Boafo, Treasurer of the Trust Bank, reiterated the sentiments of GUTA, saying that the banks had been dealing with the Euro since its introduction a year ago.

He said transactions in the Euro had, therefore, had no significant impact. Mr Yirenkyi-Boafo, however, said the withdrawal of some currencies had given a boost to the Euro at the banks but its level of activity had not changed much. "We are not dealing in huge volumes but we expect it will take time for the Euro to pick up."

Mr Yirenkyi said a couple of travellers going to Europe rather requested for the Euro from the banks but otherwise "there has not been much difference." He said perhaps the only thing that had changed since the introduction of the Euro currency was the printing of Euro invoice by a few businessmen. The Euro currency was officially launched on the international market on January one.