The Managing Director of Cal Bank Limited, Mr Frank Adu Jnr, has blamed the inability of banks to grow their deposits on the competition they face from Non- Bank Financial Institutions (NBFIs).   Currently, there are about 225 registered NBFIs operating in the country and they are able to lure customers to deposit their money with them instead of the banks. Mr Adu was reacting to concerns about the marginal increase in the bank’s customer deposits for the first nine months of 2013, (GH¢742,100) compared to the same period of 2012 (GH¢583,500), representing an increase of 27.2  per cent. Of all the key items on the bank’s balance sheet, customer deposits recorded the least increase, something which the MD described as a systematic problem with all banks at the Facts and Figures programme of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE). “There are some government institutions who even place deposits with them, even though some of them take money from people and they disappear,” he stressed. He said the urge to increase customer deposits had resulted in the running of several promotions aimed at increasing their margin. The promotions, he, however, explained, were limited by the National Lotteries Authority (NLA), which allows a maximum of five banks to run promotions at a time; other than that the trend would have been that all banks would be running promotions. That notwithstanding, the bank, he said was devising products and strategies to beef up its deposits.   Graphic Business/Ghana

The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Seth Terkper, has inaugurated a nine-member Board of Directors for the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).   The Board has Mr Ralph Tuffuor as Chairman, other members are, Mr Milison Narh, Mr George Blankson, Ms Edith Akiwumi, Mr Frank Gamadey, Ms Rita Sraha, Mrs Grace Marebe and Mr Patrick Numo.  The minister noted that though the GRA reform programme had gone far, more needed to be done at the operational level. He charged the new board to ensure that the next level of the reform programme was operationalised to ensure efficiency and increase in revenue mobilisation. He said that now that Ghana was a middle income country, it no longer had access to concessional loans to support revenue shortfalls; hence, the need for the GRA to intensify domestic revenue mobilisation. He, therefore, charged the board to guide the Authority to come out with measures that would broaden the tax net to not only increase revenue but also to ensure equity in revenue redistribution to solve critical social problems. “I have no doubt in my mind that with a supportive, proactive and innovative board, GRA will be capable of contributing more than its current performance share to the national kitty and I charge you to ensure that this comes to pass during your tenure of office,” he emphasised. He expressed the government’s appreciation to the immediate past board for overseeing the successful implementation of the GRA reforms and wished them well in their endeavours. Board Chairman Ralph Tuffour, for his part, asked for the government’s support and assured government of their commitment to see through the reforms and guide the Authority to meet the set targets. Present were officials of the Ministry of Finance and the Ghana Revenue Authority. Graphic Business/Ghana

The Export Development and Agriculture Investment Fund (EDAIF) is requesting that its traditional source of funding, a 0.5 per cent levy on non-petroleum imports, be increased to 0.75 per cent in a new law that will replace the existing one next year.   The move is to enable the fund, which specialises in providing stable capital to export-oriented companies in the agro-processing and agriculture sector, to meet the rising demand for its funds, as well as properly position it to fund the operations of businesses other than those in the agricultural sector. The new bill has since received Cabinet approval, according to its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Suleimana Mustapha, and is now waiting to be laid before Parliament for consideration and possible passage into law. In addition to widening the funding sources of the fund, the CEO said the new bill would also position EDAIF to be able to support small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector unlike the current law which limits it to export development and promotion, agric and agro-processing. The CEO disclosed these to the GRAPHIC BUSINESS on the sidelines of the Lagos International Fair, which ended on November 10. About 51 companies from the food and beverage, handicraft, textiles and garments and footware industry were sponsored by the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) and EDAIF to participate in the 10-day fair. EDAIF to support industry The fund was established about 13 years ago as the Export Development and Investment Fund (EDIF) to provide financial support for export-oriented companies. It has, however, undergone series of restructuring to enable it to meet changing trends in the business environment. The most recent one widened its mandate to include funding businesses in the agriculture and related areas, hence, its new name EDAIF. These changes notwithstanding, the fund's CEO said recent events showed that EDAIF needed another restructuring to enable it to reflect present day challenges in the country's business arena. Key among those, he said, was the need for EDAIF to support industry. "Currently, the law under which we operate is under review and the idea is that they should broaden the scope so that EDAIF can go beyond just export development and promotion, agric and agro-processing to even industry, generally. And therefore, in the new bill that is going to come to Parliament, it is proposed that the levy be increased to something like 0.75 per cent so that we can raise that additional money to be able to cater for the expansion in our operational mandate," Mr Mustapha said, adding that there are also many other proposals on funding in the new bill being readied for Parliament. It is, however, not clear if Parliament will grant those requests, especially given that some of them will amount to passing on the cost implications to consumers and citizenry in general. Returns on investments Although EDAIF, per its current law, is entitled to 10 per cent of the net proceeds from any divested state-owned enterprise (SOEs), the CEO said the limited nature of SOEs in the system meant that that source of funding was running dry, hence, the need to find a replacement. "There hasn't been many divestures and so that income source is not there," he said. Fortunately, however, Mr Mustapha said returns on the fund's investments had being encouraging so far and that had helped to cushion it from the pressures coming in from interested companies. Such investment earnings, he said, currently constituted about five to 10 per cent of EDAIF's total fund portfolio. EDAIF going higher According to the CEO, the fund disbursed about US$110 million to businesses last year, an amount he said was projected to rise some US$140 million in the ongoing year. "Since the middle of 2012 to middle of this year, we have more than doubled the disbursement and it is on that trajectory; we are going higher and higher and we just hope that the funds will flow in," he added. About US$7 million has been the highest amount given to an individual applicant. The CEO also disclosed that unlike the past when most banks were reluctant in disbursing funds from EDAIF to their costumers, all the commercial banks in the country have now signed up to the facility and are now eager to cooperate in that regard. He also added that his outfit was looking at expanding the scope of the disbursing institutions, referred to as designated financial institutions (DFIs), from the current commercial banks to the rural and community banks (RCBs). Graphic Business/Ghana

Mobus Property Development made Ghana proud when it swept four awards at the 19th International Property Awards ceremony in Dubai. The four awards, with three in the five star category, were won in the African and Arabian division of the awards.  The awards were “Best Office Development, Best Residential, Multiple Unit Development and Best Multiple Use Development.” The Phoenix Villas at East Legon won in the five star series for “Development Multiple Units, Ghana.” Capital Place, the first office park at the Airport Residential Area in Accra, won five star in “Best office Development. Knight Court at Cantonments, Accra, was commended for the modern, yet classic design, while Meridian City, a mixed use project set for construction next year at Tema, that comprises a retail mall, a hotel and office block also won five star as the Best Mixed Use Development.” Significance of awards Speaking to the Daily Graphic on the awards, Mr Richard Jonah, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mobus Property Development, said “the awards reflect the hard work and commitment Mobus Property Development has shown over the past year.  Being judged by our peers is an acknowledgment of our continued efforts to conceptualise, build and deliver.” He added with excitement that the award “cements our ambition to add positively to the infrastructure landscape of Ghana. The African and Arabian Property Awards are a great litmus test for the very best in the industry and it is our honour to be recognised.” Mobus Property Development was set up in 2011 as a private residential and commercial developer in Ghana. It has since expanded in Accra and Abuja, Nigeria, with plans to expand further in the sub-region.  It has a diverse range of expertise that allows them to have oversight and management of all aspects of a project right from the acquisition of land, appointment of architects and designers, construction and sales to after sales service. International Property Awards The International Property Awards, established in 1995, is open to residential and commercial property professionals globally.  The awards are divided into regions covering Africa, Asia Pacific, Arabia, Canada, Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe, UK and USA. The highest scoring winners from each region are automatically entered into the overall international awards, which ultimately determine the world’s finest properties and real estate professionals. Daily Graphic/Ghana

The Chairman of the Swiss-Ghanaian Chamber of Commerce, Dr Nortey Omaboe, has said the depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi, unstable electricity supplies, coupled with difficulties at the ports and the high cost of credit among others were issues that were plaguing members of the chamber as they got ready for their 2014 budgets.   Also, the slowdown in activity in 2013, characterised by adverse variances in revenues, with actual targets falling below expectations, were some of the challenges currently facing the chamber. Dr Omaboe was addressing some members and associates of the chamber during a breakfast meeting dubbed, “The chairman’s Breakfast Meeting” in Accra. The event, held under the theme: “Enabling Businesses in Ghana: New Policy Initiatives in Trade & Industry,” was to provide an opportunity for member Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) to interact with the Minister of Trade and Industry on issues of concern to them. He, however, assured members of steps that were being undertaken by the government to preserve and enhance the solid business fundamentals in the country. Responding to some of the issues, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, said the new policy direction of the government was to eliminate the inherent competition that existed between the public and the private sector.  This, he said, would help promote the economy of the country, as well as create the enabling environment for the private sector to leverage and deliver. With regard to energy challenges, Mr Iddrisu said the government was committed to increasing the generation capacity from the current 2,000 megawatts to 5,000 megawatts and assured them of adequate and reliable energy for their operations. Touching on the essence of the revision of the Ghana Investments and Promotion Centre (GIPC), Mr Iddrisu said the legislation was to stimulate strategic investment into the economy. He said it would revise the country’s investment laws to reflect changing economic dynamics which would guarantee optimum business opportunities and incentives for Ghanaian enterprises. Mr Iddrisu debunked claims that the government’s effort at emphasising local content or partnership with foreign companies was to nationalise foreign companies. On port congestion, Mr Iddrisu said the government had taken far-reaching decisions to decongest the ports and reduce transaction cost by improving scanning processes and customs efficiency. Mr Iddrisu disclosed that the objective of the National Export Strategy (NES), which was recently launched, was to increase export revenue to about US$5 billion by 2017. He said the strategy also sought to intensify the production of non-traditional export products across the country such that each district would have at least one major export product. Dr Nortey Omaboe, on behalf of the chamber, presented a citation in honour of the outgoing Swiss Ambassador, His Excellency Andrea Semadeni, for his determination, encouragement and direction which had led to the revival of the chamber. In recognition of his close affinity to Switzerland as per his official engagements, Mr Iddrisu was also admitted as an honourary member of the chamber. Daily Graphic/Ghana

Rural and community banks (RCBs) in the country mobilised GH¢1.25 million in deposits between January and July this year.   The paid up capital of the 139 RCBs also rose to GH¢48.40 million while their short term investment in various investment instruments amounted to GH¢448.90 million. The President of the Central Regional Chapter of Association of RCBs, Mr Ronald Acquah-Arhin, disclosed these at the commemoration of this year’s World Thrift/Savings Day. The president noted that savings mobilisation was an important culture in developing a stable economic climate for each country, hence the need for people to embrace it with all arms. He noted that RCBs had helped transform the lives of many a rural people and contributed positively to the socioeconomic lives of their communities by undertaking various social projects under their respective corporate social responsibilities. Mr Acquah-Arhin said the banks had helped their various catchment areas through the administration of various instruments such as the stimulation of banking habits among the rural dwellers; mobilisation of funds as share capital of the RCBs among the rural dwellers and offering of fixed deposit facilities to their clients. He said the banks also purchased treasury bills for the rural clientele, implemented various microfinance instruments such as susu savings schemes and offered financial advice to their clients in the rural areas. He explained that these mergers and acquisitions came with its attendant transitional regulatory and operational challenges such as meeting the high cost of computerising their operations; meeting the social and economic impact of urbanisation through keen competition for those who were nearer to urban centres or whose areas of operation had been “encroached upon” by the so-called established banks. Daily Graphic/Ghana