The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Mr Yoofi Grant, has given a hint of a review of the GIPC Act 2013 (Act 865) which guides investments in the country.
The review is to make the country more competitive globally to be able to attract more investments.
At a press briefing on arrival from Mauritius, Mr Grant said the impact of the review on attracting investments would be significant as it would benefit a lot of Ghanaians.
“We would be reviewing the GIPC law to make ourselves more attractive and competitive on the global investment horizon. The impact would be significant, because we want to attract the biggest companies globally to come to Ghana to do business.”
“When they come, they would create jobs, develop technical competence and our people would also benefit from the value chain. We would then be able to create jobs and wealth in Ghana and have an economy that is stable,” he said.
The GIPC Act has been subjected to scrutiny by stakeholders as it has over the years failed to eliminate the bureaucracies investors have to go through before registering their businesses.
Mr Grant, however, explained that the GIPC would deploy technology to eliminate some of the bureaucratic procedures to ensure efficiency and ease of doing business in Ghana.
Repositioning GIPC
Mr Grant explained that the GIPC would reposition itself as the ‘Chief Marketing Officer’ for Ghana to drive the needed investments into the country.
The GIPC CEO also reiterated the commitment to build local companies to be able to do businesses in other African countries.
He added that: “We are really up to the challenge and GIPC is going to support that development. It is also going to be dynamic in its operations by looking at investment opportunities that could be highlighted to foreign investors. We are looking at having positions in all the regions of Ghana. We will go out and look for those opportunities in those regions, and we will package them to sell to investors in Ghana and out of Ghana.”
He further stated: “I believe that will go a long way to show that we know what we are about when we say we are positioning Ghana as a positive investment destination.”
Investment mission
A trade mission that comprised private sector players was in Mauritius between March 9 and 12, 2017 to engage their peers in Mauritius and to also deepen the growing levels of trade and investment between the two countries.
Mr Grant said some outcomes of the mission were the signing of the Double Taxation Agreement that would enhance trade and business between the two countries.
A Double Taxation Agreement is an agreement which regulates the tax treatment of income or capital gains in a situation where the same taxpayer is subject to tax in two states with respect to the same income or capital gains.
He added: “There is also the initiation and negotiation of an eventual Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (IPPA) between Ghana and Mauritius. When successful, the agreement will help to protect the investment of each country’s investors in the other country.”
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