‘Support local companies to strengthen cedi’
The Group Chief Executive Officer of Ideal Financial Holdings Limited, Nii Kotei Dzani, has stated that the strength of the cedi and the growth of the economy are dependent on the development of local companies.
He said the success of local companies contributed to the expansion and stability of the economy since profits gained by them remained in the country.
Mr Dzani made the remarks during the launch of the new head office of the Ideal Capital Partners Limited (ICPL), an investment non-banking financial institution in Accra yesterday. The occasion was also used to launch the company’s new logo. The company is a subsidiary of Ideal Financial Holdings Limited.
Support for local companies
Making a case for support for local companies, Mr Dzani stated that multi-national companies repatriated their profits, leaving little for investment in Ghana; a situation which he said placed pressure on the value of the cedi against major foreign trading currencies.
He, therefore, appealed to the government to review certain financial regulations that permitted multi-national companies to expatriate majority of their profit to boost the local economy and stabilise the cedi.
“Economic prosperity is not about granting tax holidays to foreign companies and multi-nationals but it is about investment in local companies, and also stopping the paying of lip service to the needs of local companies”, he said.
Corporate targets and unlawful institutions
The Managing Director of ICPL, Mr Emmanuel Tackie, said the company had the requisite Information and Communication Technology (ICT) facilities and human resource to achieve its corporate targets and objectives.
He gave the assurance that the company would continue to incorporate the views and suggestions of its clients when introducing new products and when providing non-core financial advisory services and investments.
Mr Tackie blamed part of the challenges facing non-core financial institutions on the proliferation of unregistered and unscrupulous micro-financial institutions which engaged in fraudulent activities.
He appealed to the mandated authorities to weed out financial institutions operating unlawfully to protect and safeguard the investments of some members of the public.
Explaining the rationale behind the launch of the new logo, Mr Tackie said the new logo represented a new beginning for the company in an attempt to strengthen and improve its relationship with its clients.
Long-term investments
For his part, the outgoing Minister of State in-charge of Financial and Allied Institutions, Mr Fiifi Kwettey, appealed to financial institutions to invest more in long-term projects.
He added that many financial institutions preferred to finance short-term projects due to the risks associated with long-term projects.
Mr Kwettey advised companies and institutions to invest in the expansion of their companies to achieve real growth instead of the continuous increase in the prices of goods and services to earn profit.
He added that there were many opportunities in Ghana, adding that investments in agriculture for example yielded positive results.
Mr Kwettey urged businessmen and entrepreneurs to invest strategically in their businesses and advised them to avoid making profligate and unnecessary purchases when they acquired capital for investment.