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AGI’s Q2 Barometer report shows business confidence in Ghana increased marginally

The AGI Business Barometer for the second quarter of 2019 shows that business confidence improved marginally.

President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) Dr Yaw Adu Gyamfi

The AGI Business Barometer measures prevailing conditions and expectations of businesses surveyed by the AGI.

It expresses the state of the business confidence as an index, with 100 as the base index.

The report indicated that the business confidence rose from 99.8 in the first quarter to 103.2 points for the second quarter.

The report also said the high cost of electricity was the major challenge for the second quarter. 57% of respondents were recorded to have said this compared to the 47% it recorded in the first quarter.

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It was followed by the high cost of raw materials which recorded 36%.

The third major challenge the AGI faced in the second quarter was the cedi depreciation which recorded 33%. This is down compared to the 64% it recorded in the first quarter which also topped the list of their major challenges then.

The fourth concern the AGI raised in their report is the current tax regime as it recorded 33%. At the fifth position with 24% was delayed payment for the second quarter.

The AGI believes there has been some improvement due to factors such as the maintenance of the policy rate, improved macro-economic stability as well as the consistent decline in inflation.

However, the President of the AGI, Dr Yaw Adu-Gyamfi says the industry still the government to be more committed inorder to chart a competitive path for the industry.

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“The AGI Barometer for the second quarter also brings attention to the government to prioritize its policy interventions towards accelerating growth within the industrial sector and the competitiveness of this industry.

The business confidence appears to be bouncing back, nonetheless, there is still a high cost for raw materials, high cost of electricity as compared to the ECOWAS region, the current tax regime also remains and these three factors really continue to be major constraints on the growth of the industry” He stated.

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