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Ghana lags behind Ivory Coast in top African investment destinations

The country beat Nigeria based on favourable economic growth and stable inflation in the country.

Cote d’Ivoire is top prospect for investors in Africa.

The report aims to give a comparative view of a country's opportunities across the continent.

Ghana placed eight places behind Ivory Coast, ranking 9th in the 2015 last quarter ranking.

This appears to give credence to criticisms about Ghana's failing macro economic performance in the past three years, with some companies relocating to Ivory Cost.

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The country was ranked along the parameters of macro rank, business rank, consumer rank and retail rank.

Under macro economy, Ghana ranked 5th, 7th under business parameter which measures prevailing conditions for businesses, 9th for consumer purchasing power and 9th for the retail sector.

Apart from Ivory Coast, other countries like, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Zambia, Cameroon  and Uganda all placed ahead of Ghana.

This was primarily due to "deteriorating macro-economic indicators as a result of a slump in commodity prices, in particular oil. In addition, the consumer indicators and overall confidence levels have followed suit”, reads the report.

Despite these findings, and strained pockets, Nigerians are the most optimistic consumers in Africa , expressing optimism for job prospects and personal finances.

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“Cote d’Ivoire’s position has improved based on its business outlook dimension, and it continues to rank top in terms of retail sentiment. Despite the fact that it comes in third position on broader macro factors, its favourable economic growth and stable inflation climate and recent elections, provide a fertile investment environment,” said Allen Burch, Managing Director at Nielsen Africa.

East Africa’s Kenya and Tanzania made notable improvemenst on the macro ranking, which according to the research considers the economic growth performance in relation to the size of the economy. Business sentiment for Kenya remains a little more sceptical, as the ranking declines amidst slower consumer sales offtake impacting company performance.

Africa’s most advanced economy, South Africa, peer ranking improved by two positions, it also accounts for the most consumer spend in the Sub-Saharan region “and has one of the most favourably priced common item baskets” according to the research as well as the highest concentration of modern trade on the continent.

According to the World Bank, growth deceleration for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) as a result of difficult global conditions and domestic challenges has the region slowing from 4.6 per cent in 2014 to 3.3 per cent in 2015.

“With SSA being a net exporter of primary commodities, and oil being the most important commodity traded in the region, the countries hardest hit by the slump in commodity prices are understandably SSA’s oil exporters, led by top-producers, Nigeria and Angola,” said Burch.

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