Ghana has significant business potential - Mission

Accra, March 10, GNA - A delegation from the Republic Bank of Trinidad and Tobago said on Wednesday there was significant business potential in Ghana's energy sector.

The delegation, which was in Ghana for five days, met with the Finance Minister, Dr Kwabena Duffour, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Mr Kwesi Amissah-Arthur and Managing Directors of six of the major banks at separate meetings.

The Deputy Managing Director of the Republic Bank, Mr Gregory Thompson told journalists before departure that the bank identified financing of the energy sector particularly the downstream as a potential investment area. He explained that the delegation would review the various meetings and discussions held while in Ghana in order to take a firm decision. Mr Thompson described the mission as successful, saying the delegation was excited at what it saw.

He spoke of the free flow of information, the commitment of the various persons the group met towards the development of Ghana and a solid regulatory environment.

He said the Trinidad and Tobago bank would make a second trip to Ghana for a more specific mission. Mr Thompson explained that while this might take some time, the bank was however ready to go into loan syndication within the short term. Trinidad and Tobago has been producing oil for over hundred years, and their financial sector has expertise in the monetization of gas, a skill and knowledge the delegation says would be relevant to banks in Ghana. Chief Executive of Barbados National Bank, a subsidiary of the Republic Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, Robert Le-Hunte, who was part of the delegation, said the prospects were good.

The visit by the bank follows an open invitation from Ghana's Energy Minister Dr Joe Oteng-Adjei, when he visited the Caribbean country. The Trinidad and Tobago High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mrs Victoria Mendez-Charles, who was with the delegation pledged to continue to work to improve relations between Ghana and the Caribbean country. She threw an open invitation to Ghana's Chamber of Commerce to a Trade and Investment Convention TIC 2010 to be held later in the year. The team from the Republic Bank of Trinidad and Tobago also had discussions with managements of other relevant institutions including the Ghana Association of Bankers, the Ghana Stock Exchange, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.