African cocoa producers to burn cocoa
Accra bourse index continues steady climb
Gomoa Assin rural bank launches new product
African cocoa producers to burn cocoa
Accra
(Greater Accra) 05 September 2000
The Second
Consultative Meeting of Selected African Cocoa Producing Countries in Accra on
Friday reaffirmed its commitment to withdraw and destroy 250,000 tonnes of
cocoa beans effective October, when the new season begins.
They said
each country would set up a Monitoring Committee, headed by the
Secretary-General of the Cocoa Producers' Alliance that would ensure the
implementation of the decision.
The
participating countries are Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, and Nigeria.
The
decision of the meeting chaired by Mr. Kwame Peprah, Minister of Finance, is
not expected to have any adverse effect on cocoa farmers, as their produce
would be paid for before being destroyed by burning.
They
allocated specific tonnage to be destroyed by each country in the 2000/2001
season based on the recommendations of the various national technical
committees but did not state how much each will destroy.
Mr. John
Newman, Chief Executive of Ghana Cocoa Board, told the Ghana News Agency that
the end result would be positive as it would no doubt, create a rise in the
price of the commodity on the world market. He said if prices do not rise,
cocoa producers would respond again.
Mr. Newman
said a working group composed of a representative each of the National
Technical Committees and the Secretary General of the CPA would further examine
proposed modalities, alongside the ICCO Council meeting in London from September
4 - 8.
This
meeting comes a few weeks before the beginning of the cocoa season by which
time the destruction is expected to start.
Another
meeting of the consultative group on the decisions reached at the Accra Meeting
is scheduled for Abuja at the end of October.
GRi…/
Accra bourse index continues steady climb
Accra
(Greater Accra) 05 September 2000
The GSE
All-Share index continued its steady climb on Monday when Aluworks (ALW) and
Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) gained 50 and five cedis respectively to push it
up.
The index
ended trading slightly stronger by 0.81 points at 824.43 points, but the market
remained offer-driven as they exceeded bids by large margins.
Market
capitalisation and the change for the year to date were equally firmer at
3,578.87 billion cedis and 11.99 per cent respectively.
Traded
volumes recovered remarkably by over four times on the strength of ALW, which
sold one million shares out of the 1,003,000 it posted.
Five other
equities, which sold their shares, could only manage 23,100. The 17 remaining
equities had no bids and did not make any sales.
There were
two price changes - both positive. ALW gained 50 cedis to close at 2,450 cedis
while GCB was up for the third time on the trot with a five-cedi gain to end
trading at 1,170 cedis.
There was,
however, a negative pressure on 13 equities and no pressure at all on four
others.
Offers were
up at 2.7 million shares compared to two million at the previous trading
session.
Bids went
up more than three times to close at a little over one million from 386,100 on
Friday.
Below are
the closing prices of listed equities in cedis:
ABL 625
AGC 18,600
ALW 2,450 +50
BAT 438
CFAO 38
EIC 1,880
FML 1,100
GBL 1,350
GCB 1,170 +5
GGL 990
HFC 950
MGL 200
MLC 149
MOGL 17,500
PAF 300
PBC 520
PZ 800
SC 21,000
SPPC 155
SSB 1,996
UNIL 1,800
UTCE 125
CMLT 425
GRi…/
Accra
(Greater Accra) 05 September 2000
The Ghana
Association of Bankers, on Monday September 4, released the following average
inter bank exchange rates of the cedi to the dollar and derived rates for other
major foreign currencies:
Currency Selling Buying
US Dollar 6,276.18 6,497.45
Pound
Sterling 9,188.96 9,518.11
French
Franc 862.79 892.90
Swiss Franc 3,641.64 3,768.51
Deutsche
Mark 2,892.88 2,995.57
Canadian
Dollar 4,262.04 4,410.21
Japanese
Yen 59.33 61.40
Dutch
Guilder 2,568.25 2,657.80
S/African
Rand 903.09 933.88
Euro 5,657.88 5,858.74
CFA Franc 8.63 8.93
Naira 56.98 58.99
Ecowas/WAUA 8,052.34 ----------
At the
Forex Bureau, the greenback is
being quoted between 6,200 cedis and 6,500 cedis whiles the pound sterling is
going for between 9,000 and 9,300.
GRi…/
Gomoa Assin rural bank launches new product.
Gomoa-Ekwamkrom
(Central Region) 05 September 2000
The
Eastern Gomoa Assin Rural Bank has launched a new product known as "Susu
Savings Accounts" to mobilise savings to increase its capital base.
The
new savings scheme is targeted at people in the lower income bracket to enable
them to improve their living standards.
At
the launching, Nana Ekwam IV, Chief of Gomoa Ekwamkrom said the scheme would
enhance the economic well being of the people in the area.
He
expressed concern about the spate of embezzlement of funds in the rural banks
by some unscrupulous managers, directors and staff and called on the Bank of
Ghana (BOG) to intensify its auditing function to stop the practice.
He
said the concept of the rural banks was to bring banking services to the
doorsteps of the rural folk and asked managers and directors not to destroy the
laudable idea.
Mr.
John Ofori, Agona Rural Bank Manager, who launched the product, said the new
savings accounts would be opened to both existing and new customers
particularly farmers, drivers, traders and small-scale entrepreneurs to promote
their businesses.
GRi…/