GRi BEF News Ghana
19 - 06 - 2001
Make
ECOWAS Trade Protocols meaningful - Businessman
Poor
adverts undermining FM stations in Upper West Region
Al-Share
Index makes impressive gain, but bearish sentiments prevail
Takoradi
(Western Region) 19 June 2001
Mr Richard
Druyeh, Managing Director of BMK Particleboard Limited, at the weekend called
on governments in West Africa to implement protocols of the Economic Community
of West African States (ECOWAS) in order to make investments thrive.
He appealed
to them to adopt a radical approach to ensure that customs and trade officials,
especially at the borders, promote ECOWAS ideals that will make business
operations less cumbersome, bring good returns on investments and above all
promote unity to make the sub-region a preferred investment destination.
Mr Druyeh
made the appeal when members of the Institute of Financial and Economic
Journalists (IFEJ) visited BMK's production plant at Takoradi. The visit, which
also took the team to Ghana Primewood Company (GAP), was part of the
Institute's programme to promote growth of indigenous businesses in the country.
It was
organised jointly by IFEJ and Channel 2 Communications.
BMK
Particleboard Limited is a wood company that aims at transforming waste wood
into a wide range of office and home furniture through the application of
technology that uses cocoa shells.
Mr Druyeh
expressed regret that currently "ECOWAS protocols do not seem to be
operating especially in the French-speaking countries".
"Efforts
at penetrating markets in all of the French-speaking countries, except
Guinea,
have yielded very little result and the situation is getting tougher and
tougher.
"We
intend to lobby policy makers to make the importation of particleboard
technology furniture illegal for a number of years."
He said
BMK, for instance, has container loads of furniture that have been at the
Nigerian border for the last six weeks despite the existence of the ECOWAS
protocol on free movement of goods and the enhanced trade liberalisation
scheme.
The company
currently exports to La Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Mali
and supplies furniture to Barnetts and Supreme Furnishers, companies, which
originally imported particle furniture from South Africa.
Other
clients are Regimanuel Gray, Manet, Tema Development Corporation and National
Trust Holding Company.
Mr Druyeh
urged government to take another look at the reduction in the concesssionary
rate on office furniture imports from 20 per cent to 10 per cent, noting that
it puts viable and high value companies such as BMK Limited in an uncompetitive
position.
He said the
company, which has been operating since 1998, has the potential of ending the
import of particleboard products, which is fast becoming the preferred
furniture by real estate developers and homeowners.
BMK, which
has 300 local staff and four expatriates, has 45 per cent SSNIT investment
while 55 per cent is held by the Kufuor Group of Companies headed by
Mr Ben
Kufuor and GAP.
The
company, a 10 to 12 million dollars investment, made one million dollars
returns last year (20 per cent exports) and hopes to make about 2.5 million
dollars this year. Mr Druyeh said the investment could be recouped in three
years. It imported 20 per cent of its products last year.
He said the
idea of a company that would make use of wood particles considered as waste in
the wood industry came up in 1992 when Ghana's wood stock depletion was
heightened by government's enactment of policies to make the forests more
useful.
Asked about
the future of the company, the MD said: "BMK is a viable investment. It is
a company for the future since the whole concept and idea are new here but are
catching on fast with everybody.
"In
support of government's laudable policy to preserve the nation's forest
resources, we believe that positive steps must be taken to support and promote
the use of locally produced particleboard products."
Mr Druyeh
said the other focus point for the company is government-sponsored projects,
hospitals and schools.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 19 June 2001
Coca-Cola
Bottling Company (Ghana) Limited has bought the franchise from D & C
Company to bottle Schweppes products in Ghana.
Cocoa-Cola
will, therefore, bottle Schweppes bitter lemon, orange and other products that
D&C Company bottled before, Mr Seth Asamoah, General Sales Manager of Coca
Cola told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview on telephone in Accra.
The
arrangement follows the conclusion of an international arrangement between the
two companies recently. The amount involved was not disclosed.
Coca-Cola
is now producing BonAqua, a 1.5-litre bottled mineral water, at D&C located
on the Spintex Road in Accra.
"What
has happened is that we have bought the franchise, that is the name," Mr
Asamoah explained.
"But
the plant and buildings all belong to the original owners, D&C. Besides it
also means
that from now on, all products under the name Schweppes belong to the
Coca-Cola
Company.
"Coca-Cola
will now bottle Schweppes in Ghana."
Mr Asamoah
said henceforth Schweppes would fall into the Coca Cola brand of soft drinks.
Coca-Cola
already has a franchise arrangement with Schweppes of UK.
He said
Coca-Cola has put in place a plastic bottling machine that produces the
mineral
water and pays Schweppes according to the number of bottles produced.
BonAqua
adds up to a growing list of locally manufactured mineral water
production
lines, which includes Voltic, Yes, Aqua Vita, Kakum and Astek Nsu.
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Wa (Upper
West) 19 June 2001
Most
businessmen in the Upper West region shy away from advertising their businesses
and sponsor programmes on the region's two FM Radio Stations at Wa for fear of attracting the attention of the
Internal Revenue Services (IRS).
As a result
the two stations, Radio Upper West of the GBC and Radio Progress, operated by
Mass Media for Development, a local NGO, are struggling to survive financially.
This came
to light when the Regional Minister, Mr. Sahanun Mogtari, interacted with the
staff of Radio Upper West after a familiarization visit to the station.
Mr.
Ferdinand Ninfaa, the Regional Director conducted him round the offices and
studios.
Mr. Christ
Alabila, GBC Regional Correspondent said a man who was sponsoring one of the
programmes withdrew because the IRS people slapped a tax of 400,000 cedis on
him.
When he
challenged the amount assessed, the officials only remarked that if he had no
money he would not have been sponsoring a radio programme.
Mr Mogtari
advised the IRS to assess people on their actual earnings in order not to kill
their initiative.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 19 June 2001
Currency Buying Selling
US
Dollar 7,042.09 7,264.55
Pound
Sterling 9,904.00 10,219.04
French
Franc 926.80 955.66
Swiss
Franc 3,973.68 4,097.45
Deutsche Mark 3,107.92 3,205.77
Canadian
Dollar 4,615.96 4,760.57
Japanese
Yen 57.09 58.87
Dutch
Guilder 2,758.70 2,844.71
S/African
Rand 878.46 905.44
Euro 6,077.56
6,268.58
CFA
Franc 9.27 9.56
Naira 63.12 65.12
Ecowas/WAUA 8,802.96 ======
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 19 June 2001
The GSE-All
Share Index, the benchmark index of the Accra Bourse which has laboured in the
recent weeks, rose by 7.42 points - its highest point rise in recent times- led
by an advancing Aluworks (ALW) which gained an impressive 1,000 cedis.
The index
rallied to open the week at 906.08 points from 898.66 points but the market
continues to struggle under heavy bearish sentiments.
Traded
volumes rose slightly at 45,200 from 14,300 shares led by Aluworks, which sold
26,000.
Analysts
attributed ALW's strong performance to its impressive performance last year and
the shareholders' confidence of a bright future.
The company
recorded a net profit of 34 billion cedis and paid a dividend of 800
cedis per
share, a 100 per cent rise over 1999.
There were
two positive price changes. Aluworks gained 1,000 cedis to close at 8,500 cedis
and Pioneer Aluminum Factory was up by 10 cedis for the second time running at
19,500 cedis.
The change
for the year to date now stands at 5.61 per cent.
Market
capitalisation closed stronger at 3,735.26 billion cedis up from 3,721.20
billion cedis.
The
following are the last prices of listed equities in cedis:
ABL 630
AGC 18,500
ALW 8,500 +1,000
BAT 550
CFAO 60
EIC 2,890
FML 750
GBL 1,300
GCB 1,600
GGL 900
HFC 952
MGL 240
MLC 130
MOGL 19,400
PAF 320 +10
PBC 450
PZ 640
SCB 21,000
SPPC 306
SSB 2,300
UNIL 1,800
CMLT 425
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