Apraku urges ECOWAS nations to add value to primary products
Accra (Greater Accra) 26 March 2002 - Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) raked in a profit before tax of 296.9 billion cedis in 2001, an increase of 65 per cent over the 179.5 billion cedis in 2000. However, total tax and 10 per cent reconstruction levy brought the net profit to 169.3 billion cedis as against 140 billion cedis recorded in 2000.
At the Bank's annual general meeting in Accra, Mr Kwabena Gyima Osei-Bonsu, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said the bank paid 83.1 billion cedis for corporate tax, 14.8 billion cedis for deferred tax and 29.7 billion cedis for reconstruction levy.
Out of the amount, GCB proposed a dividend of 400 cedis per share, amounting to 66 billion cedis inclusive of the interim dividend of 100 cedis per share already paid. Mr Osei-Bonsu said in 2000, there was a fall in the level of interest rates in the economy and this led to a decline in the borrowing and lending rates of the bank.
"Consequently, the bank re-structured and intensified its activities in respect of savings mobilisation and credit extension to the private sector. "Considerable credit was also extended to key state institutions and programmes, particularly, crude oil imports," he said.
Mr Osei-Bonsu said the prudent measures and other initiatives undertaken in pursuance of the bank's strategic plan yielded positive results. The Board Chairman said GCB achieved so much over the year under review within favourable economic conditions both on the international and domestic environments.
He said GCB would in 2002 pursue appropriate strategic interventions to manage its business well and provide quality products and services among other responsibilities to customers and employees.
Mr William Panford Bray, Managing Director, said in 2001 there was considerable increase in mobilisation of funds as well as marked growth in loans and advances.
"With the fast declining interest rates of treasury instruments, the obvious choice was a restructuring of assets in favour of loans and advances and overnight money market operations. "As a result, net interest income increased by 151 per cent compared to 95 per cent in the previous year," he added.
Net interest income for 2001 was pegged at 586.7 billion cedis compared to 233.2 billion cedis for 2000. Provision for bad and doubtful debts took 178.6 billion cedis from income generated as compared to 98.8 billion cedis for the previous year. Total assets for the period under review stood at 3,808.4 billion cedis, up from 2,269.5 billion cedis.
Mr Bray said other operating income, particularly exchange gain which had been considerable in the past due to the depreciating cedi was, however, much smaller in 2001 as a result of a more stable cedi. "That, notwithstanding, our total income improved from 472 billion in 2000 to 692 billion cedis in 2001."
Mr Bray outlined the bank's future programmes for enhanced performance saying they included upgrading of technology, product, branch and human resource development.
He noted that GCB's performance for the past year had enabled it to regain the position as the most profitable bank in the country. After closing down five of its branches in 2000, the bank operated 130 branches in 2001 and this would continue in 2002 until it is deemed fit to close more.
Some shareholders were not satisfied with certain provisions in the annual report. Mr Amoah Awuah, a shareholder, asked about the exact remuneration given to the Board of Directors as the percentage increase awarded members of the board was higher than that given on each dividend.
The bank's policy pegs the dividend at not less than 30 per cent of profit after tax. Mr Joseph Abeka Biney, another shareholder, urged management to restructure the mode of payment to pensioners. He recommended that the bank gave IOUs to pensioners before their salary arrived.
The Board Chairman, Mr Osei-Bonsu, Mr Franklin Asamoah, Mr Ebenezer Moses Debrah, Dr Samuel Nii-Noi Ashong and Mr Joe Ofori were re-elected to serve on the Board.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 26 March 2002 - The Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) on Monday said it generated 104 million dollars from its money transfer business in the year 2001. The amount was generated from an average of 350 people that received remittances daily in Accra and 200 daily receipts from other payment centres.
Mr Victor Boakye-Bonsu, General Manager, Accounts Division, told journalists in Accra that the amount earned was nearly 100 per cent increase over 53 million dollars recorded in 2000. GCB provided enhanced services in the money transfer business, hence the high earnings.
Some of the services included electronic payments into customers' accounts for withdrawal through the Automated Machines and non-account holders being offered cash withdrawal services over the counter.
Another factor that contributed to the high earning was the numerous channels of transfer GCB had arranged in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Holland, Sweden and Germany, he said.
The bank also operated the direct receipt of hard currency for customers, who wished to receive such monies. Mr Boakye-Bonsu said the bank was to come out this year with more products that would yield more profits in view of the downward trend in interest rates.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 26 March 2002 - Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, Minister of Trade and Industry, on Tuesday urged exporters from ECOWAS nations to adopt strategies for value addition to primary products in order to attract premium prices.
"Indeed if we hope to succeed as exporting nations and to generate the critical mass of export revenue necessary to transform our national economies, value addition should be at the core of our export promotion and development activities," he said.
These were contained in a speech read on his behalf by the Deputy Minister, Mr Akwasi Osei Adjei in Accra at the opening of a day's workshop on strategies to be adopted in positioning Ghana's products on the ECOWAS Market.
The workshop, which brought together 35 participants from 40 companies, which recently qualified to benefit from the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme, was to educate participants on market entry strategies.
Dr Apraku said exporters needed to first concentrate on the ECOWAS market and then move to the European Union (EU) market "as we develop our standards and quality strategies". He said this was because although all exports to the EU would qualify for the ECOWAS market, not all of them for the ECOWAS could qualify for the EU market.
Dr Apraku said with each EU country standing on its own and being different in terms of taste and purchasing power, there was the need to adopt different strategies for every country for successful export activities.
He noted that most products were transported by road and said other means of transport such as air and sea could be used to avoid problems associated with road travel. He urged participants to consider the formation of an Association of Ghana Exporters to the ECOWAS Market as a consultative platform for the exchange of ideas and as an advocacy group.
He said although the export path to the ECOWAS was not rosy, such workshops and advocacy at the right forum could change things for the better. Mr Sam Ayesu, Head of Training Department of the Ghana Export Promotion Council, said there was the need for standardisation of quality indicators on goods.
This was because if a particular product was to be promoted under one name, irrespective of which company it came from, there had to be a means of ensuring that all companies maintained certain standards.
"There is some work to be done by the certifying companies such as the Ghana Standards Board and Food and Drugs Board. We need to have some uniformity in the quality aspects for consumers to know."
The ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme was mooted 10 years ago at a meeting of the Council of ECOWAS Ministers and has about 156 companies benefiting from it.
The scheme seeks to erase the payment of tax on goods from its beneficiaries. Producers of goods with added value of at least 35 per cent qualify to benefit from the scheme.
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