Swedish Companies trooping to invest in Ghana

Accra, June 14, GNA - Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Monday hinted that government would work closely with the Scandinavian countries in order to achieve the country's social democratic objectives.

"The Scandinavians have been noted for their focus on the developmen t of the lives of their people and as a social Democratic government we sha ll work with them to allow our people to benefit directly."

Vice President Mahama gave this hint when Mr Per Lingarde, Swedish Ambassador to Ghana and Nigeria paid a courtesy call on him at the Osu Castle, to announce Swedish investment plan in Ghana.

He said Ghana was recovering from its economic slump over the years and would therefore expand its economic relations with countries prepared to invest in the country.

The Vice President said Ghana had become a model in Africa because o f her political stability and called on potential investors to take advanta ge of the status quo to invest and yield good returns.

"Already, we are dealing with Norway in the oil industry and hope to

enjoy massive support from Sweden and other countries in that region." Mr Lingarde said although Swedish companies are in Ghana, more corporate entities are expected in the country by December this year to undertake investments in all sectors of the Ghanaian economy. The Ambassador who is based in Abuja, Nigeria said his visit to Ghan a was to hold discussions with the Minister of Trade and Industry to find o ut the areas of co-operation.

He called on the government to help identify areas of development an d co-operation. "Sweden is so happy with the political stability in Ghana and peacef ul transition and investment in such a country will definitely yield meaning ful dividends for both countries," he concluded.

Accra bourse index suffers further decline

Accra, June 14, GNA - The GSE All-Share Index continued with its downward slip on Monday, going down 85.52 points to close 6,513.45 points from 6,598.97 points on Friday.

Traded volumes closed the session at 144,998 shares valued at GH¢104,907.52 compared with 263,710 shares valued at GH¢94,613.63 at the previous close.

On the broader market, there were six negative price changes. HFC Bank Limited (HFC) dropped GH¢0.01 at GH¢0.47, Ghana Commerc ial Bank (GCB) declined GH¢0.09 at GH¢1.40, and CAL Bank Limited (CAL) fe ll GH¢0.01 at GH¢0.25.

Other decliners were Ecobank Ghana Limited (EBG) down GH¢0.01 at GH¢3.29, Enterprise Insurance Company (EIC) declined GH¢0.03 at GH¢ 1.72 and Unilever Ghana Limited (UNIL.GH) dropped GH¢0.55 at GH¢3.40. Market Capitalization closed the session lower at GH¢18,123.35 mil lion from GH¢18,188.55 million at the previous close.