The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment and Promotion Centre (GIPC), Yofi Grant, says the downgrade of Ghana’s credit rating by international ratings agency Moody’s will not have an effect on Ghana’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
According to him, the downgrade was only in reference to Ghana’s fiscal situation which relates to the country’s ability to pay back loans and not the real economy of the country.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express Business Edition, Mr Yofi Grant noted that the downgrade had not affected foreign direct investors’ opinions about the potential within the Ghanaian market space.
“Well, not that I know of and I haven’t had many questions about our fiscal situation. Indeed, the interesting thing is that Moody’s who downgraded us still considered the economy stable, going forward. So it’s really not about whether, you know, these concerns that will definitely hurt us,” he said.
“The ratings are also about somebody’s opinion going forward and there are many things that affect a country’s ratings. But that’s for a different sect of the market that for us we don’t even consider as investors,’ he added.
Mr Grant continued, “When we talk of investors in the GIPC we’re looking at Foreign Direct Investors who look at projects and look at economies and invest directly into those economies.”
Considerations offered
He indicated that what the rating agency had done was to give the country something to consider as it plans and strategises ahead in its fiscal space.
The GIPC boss said that Ghana’s real economy is showing very good promise, and projects a 5.2 percent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth by the end of the year.
“For me a rating agency sort of gives you enough to think about as to how you go forward with your economy and it’s only on the fiscal, not even the real economy. It’s only the fiscal position that you have, whether you can generate enough to grow your economy or not,” he said.
“I mean as I mentioned to you now, the Ghanaian economy is showing a lot of promise in growth. This 2021 I suspect that we’ll end up with a GDP growth of about 5.2% which will be a major growth economy in the world post COVID,” he said.
“So that tells you that we’re doing something very right and perhaps our inability to rack up enough revenues means that we’ll think of strategies of raising revenues. And then those strategies we should believe in those strategies and let them happen and get the revenue to support our government,” he added.
