Main market indicators remain unchanged the whole week
Bank of Ghana to
ensure free operations of forex bureaux
Tema
Port to be dredged at 13 million US dollars
Jamasi
(Ashanti Region) 14 August 2000
Twenty-one
million cedis out of 114 million cedis credit advanced to more than 400 farmers
through the Sekyere Rural Bank under the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD) in 1998 is still outstanding.
The
farmers, mostly food crop growers and sellers are from Apaa, Kyekyewere and
Yonso in theSekyere West District, Mr. Kwame Dapaah-Siakwan, Chairman of the
Board of Directors of the Bank, announced at the 12th annual general meeting of
the bank at Jamasi on Friday.
He
said the recovery rate of 81.57 per cent has made it impossible for the bank to
go for more funds to continue with the programme.
Mr.
Dapaah-Siakwan, however, assured the shareholders and all stakeholders that
legal action would be "instituted against the defaulters to ensure that
every pesewa is retrieved."
The
Chairman, who was presenting his report for 1998/99, said the year under review
had been very successful and that the bank recorded a profit before tax of
218.7 million cedis as compared to 151.2 million cedis made in 1998.
He
said deposits grew at an average rate of about 75 per cent by the close of 1999
while the bank recorded 3.7 billion cedis turn over up from 1.6 billion cedis
for 1997.
Mr.
Dapaah-Siakwan said the bank invested 2.7 billion cedis in the government
treasury bills and granted 1.3 billion cedis as loans and overdrafts to its
customers.
He
pointed out that a scholarship scheme of 12 million cedis was instituted for
needy junior secondary school students, adding that the bank has set aside 10
million cedis towards development projects in its catchment areas this year.
Mr.
Kwame Owusu, a member of the Ashanti Regional Chapter of the Association of
Rural Banks, said the association is finding ways of resuscitating Afranchoman
and Adansi-Akrofrom rural banks in the region.
He
called on the shareholders to encourage more people to save with the bank and
urged all those owing the bank to try to repay their loans to enable the bank
to continue with its investment programmes.
GRi…/
Accra
(Greater Accra) 14 August 2000
The
main market indicators of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) marked time the whole
week as trading ended on Friday once again under heavy bearish sentiments.
The
GSE-All Share Index, the key market measure, was unchanged at 820.41 points.
Market capitalisation and the change for the year to date also stood still at
3,571.31 billion cedis and 11.44 per cent respectively.
There
was no price change. Only SPPC had a positive pressure. Out of the remaining 22
equities 13 had negative pressure while nine others had no pressure.
Traded
volumes sank heavily from 768,000 to a mere 52,200, as 15 of the 23 listed
equities made no sales as institutional buyers continued to stay away.
The
highest sale on Friday was Ghana Commercial Bank's 42,300 compared with 745,300
sold by SSB Bank last Wednesday.
Brokers
said such a drop was not unusual and explained that SSB's impressive
performance on Wednesday was the result of a 'buy-back' by its institutional
investors to clear the market of existing offers so as to protect the share
price.
Generally,
the market was poor with offers exceeding demand by large margins.
Offers
closed down at 1.7 million from 2.1 million on Wednesday. Bids also plummeted
from 860,800 to 100,900 shares. There were no bids in 13 equities.
Below
are the closing prices of listed equities in cedis:
ABL 620
AGC
18,600
ALW
2,600
BAT 440
CFAO
38
EIC
1,880
FML
1,200
GBL
1,400
GCB
1,000
GGL 990
HFC 950
MGL 200
MLC 150
MOGL
17,500
PAF 300
PBC 520
PZ 800
SCB
22,000
SPPC 155
SSB
1,990
UNIL
1,800
UTCE
125
CMLT
425
GRi…/
Accra
(Greater Accra) 14 August 2000
The
Bank of Ghana (BOG) on Friday said it would allow the foreign exchange market
to operate freely but would continue to enforce existing regulations and
requirements for its smooth operation.
It
said in a statement in Accra that it would allow the market to operate without
any official interference, either administrative or moral.
The
bank said it has discontinued the practice of special swaps that had entailed
reversible forex transactions with banks since the end of last May. Special
swaps had been used by the Central Bank to intervene in the forex market.
The
recent measures relating to the operations of Forex Bureaux were not
restrictions to interfere in the functioning of the market. They were mostly
part of the existing regulations and licensing requirements governing forex
operations.
"They
were not in anyway intended to impose new restrictions, intensify those on the
books, or interfere with the functioning of the forex market."
It
reiterated that forex operators should seek the identity of those buying
foreign currencies from them and to engage in spot buying only.
Forex
bureaux should desist from accepting money against future supply and engaging
in high volume sales. They should display their rates and submit their returns
to the bank not later than 10 working days after the end of the month.
The
bank said efforts are being made to improve the liquidity situation in the
foreign exchange market to stabilise the rate of the cedi.
It
said the country is expecting a flow of about 300 million dollars in foreign
assistance from multilateral and bilateral donors once the IMF Board Review of
Ghana's economic programme is concluded later this month.
The
public has expressed concern about the volatile foreign exchange market, which
has seen the cedi crash from 3,500 to the dollar at the beginning of the year
to more than 6,000 at the moment.
The
Minister of Finance, Mr. Kwame Peprah in April announced a series of measures
to control the slump of the currency.
GRi…/
Today's Exchange Rates
Accra (Greater Accra) 14 - 08 - 2000
CURRENCY BUYING SELLING
Pound sterling 8,600 9,000
U.S. dollar 5,700 6,000
Deutch marks 4,000 4,300
French franc 880 930
Dutch guilder 2,500 2,850
Swiss franc 3,500 3,850
C.F.A. franc 8,900 9,300
Tema Port to be dredged at 13 million US dollars
Tema (Greater Accra) 14 August 2000
The Tema Port is to be dredged to a depth of between 11.5 and 12.5
metres at a cost of 13 million US dollars to enable it to accommodate bigger
ships.
The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), which is playing a
leading role in the Gateway programme would provide 65 percent of the cost of
the project while the Dutch government provides the remaining 35 percent.
Mr. Kwaku Dua Boateng, Acting Director-General of the GPHA, who
announced this at a press soiree on Friday said the cost, could increase to
about 17 or 18 million dollars if plans to extend one of its quays, is included
in the project.
The dredging is to be undertaken by a BOSCALIS, a Dutch company,
which undertook a similar exercise in 1992. The dredging, which will be started
next September is supposed to be carried out along operational activities and
GPHA intends to reduce disruption in the movement of ships there.
"We are trying to reach an agreement with ship owners and
agents on this and we can now finalise arrangements for the dredging to start
in September", Mr. Boateng said.
He said the project forms part of GPHA's plans to position itself
as the hub to the West African sub-region, adding, it has already conducted
research into how the port could serve as a transit point to landlocked
countries in the sub-region.
The GPHA is collaborating with the Ghana Shippers Council and the
Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), to find ways of encouraging the
movement of more traffic through the Tema Port.
Mr. Boateng said the GPHA will soon finalise a contract with
consultants for the designing of an IDA funded centre outside the Tema Port
where customs examinations will be re-locate to reduce examination of goods,
which occupies a lot space in the port.
The designs will be completed by the end of this year for
contractors to be engaged.
GRi…/