Ghana ranks sixth-best place for doing business in Africa, says RMB report

Ghana has been ranked sixth-best place for doing business in Africa in the 2020 Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) investment attractiveness rankings, according to a news report by Ghanian Times.

The country is going very closer to a be in the top five positions this year, rising three places in the rankings.

According to the report of RMB, the country's growth outlook is strong and concentrated around the oil and gas sector.

Further, the report stated that Ghana's performance to its strong growth outlook mainly concentrated around oil and gas.

It indicated that even though the country's growth outlook was concentrated around oil and gas, it was projected that non-oil growth would pick up again, supported by pro-business reforms and a steady improvement in the power supply.

Last year Ghana's economy grew at 7.1 percent, against the 8.8 percent projected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The World Bank projects Ghana's economic growth rate for 2020 at 6.8 percent, making it the third-fastest country in Africa.

"Regardless of the recent deterioration in its operating environment rankings, Ghana remains one of the easier business environments in Africa," the report stated.

On socio-political risks Ghana moved from nine in 2018 to six in 2019, making the country a safe haven for business and investment.

The report states, "the country's commodity dependency is increasing, with oil, gold, and cocoa being the main exports, which leaves Ghana heavily exposed to international price trends."

Turing the focus on West Africa, the report said although growing faster than Southern Africa, West Africa's growth trails the average for Africa as a whole.

The report stated that Nigeria, Africa's biggest economic country was the main culprit for dragging the region's growth prospects down due to the drop in oil prices and the lack of industrialization.