New GIPC laws to reach cabinet within first quarter – CEO

CEO of the GIPC, Mr. Yofi Grant

he Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) has told Citi Business News it should submit a draft on its proposed new regulations to cabinet by the end of the first quarter this year (2018).

According to the Center, it has already engaged key stakeholders on some reforms to be rolled out in the new law.

The decision to revise the GIPC’s laws follows concerns by the various business associations over issues of unfair competition in the retail trade, minimum capital requirement among others.

CEO of the GIPC, Mr. Yofi Grant who has been speaking to Citi Business News on the matter says his outfit is completing its report to be forwarded to the President.

“Last year we did about fourteen stakeholder meetings with various phases of business regulators including one with the Parliamentary sub-committee on Trade and Industry which was very good because they gave us very valuable insights into how the laws are made and what areas we need to look at.”

He added, “We are putting things together and we will prepare a report and submit it to the President and we hope he presents it to cabinet and further submission to Parliament.”

The GIPC has set an ambitious target of 5 billion target in Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) into Ghana for 2017.

As at the end of the third quarter, the centre has recorded FDIs in the region of 3.4 billion dollars.

Even though it is confident of meeting the mark with the full year’s figures, Ghana is reported to have shrunk in position in the World Bank’s ease of doing business report.

In 2017, Ghana dropped from 108th position in 2016 to 120th position.

But Mr. Grant is hopeful of reversing this trend with a favourable investment law and attract more investments into Ghana.

“We are still very aggressively pursuing these reforms because we believe they are very necessary in repositioning Ghana as the best place to do business. We are looking that by the first quarter of this year we should have put something out there,” he stressed.

Source: citibusinessnews.com