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TEN Field to produce first oil in August

The Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC) has assured Ghanaians that the Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme (TEN) oil and gas field will produce its first oil in August this year. Ghana has operating interest of 15%, while the other jubilee partners including Tullow Oil have 47.18%, Kosmos Energy has 17%, Anadarko has (17%), and the remaining 3.82% interest belongs to Petro SA. The initial ramp-up of production is expected to peak at approximately 76,000 barrels per day, while around 50million standard cubic feet per day of gas is expected from the field. The TEN field has reserves of 240 million barrels of oil and a deposit of 335 million standard cubic feet of gas. The TEN field which is west of the Jubilee Field is operated by Tullow. The discovery was made in 2009 and the partners have drilled the oil wells that can produce the first oil. Speaking at oil and gas shipping and bunkering event Wednesday, the Chief Operating Officer of the GNPC, Michael Ayeetey said “though the TEN project is affected by the border dispute between the government of Ghana and its Ivorian counterpart, operations on the field are still ongoing.” “The court order only prohibited further development of wells but Ghana was given the go ahead to continue the project it has already begun. The only thing we cannot do is drill additional wells,” he stated. Jubilee Field The Jubilee partners are looking at expanding the field as the original field is nearing its decommissioning period. “The jubilee unit area was developed based on plan of development for two reservoir levels that were approved by the minister. However, the jubilee field has five reservoir levels,” he maintained. He said the partnership is expanding the column to include the other three reservoir levels and other discoveries that are outside the jubilee unit area. This will include the Kosmos bloc that is east of the Jubilee Field which is comprised the Tick, Akasa and Mahogany discoveries. These will be tied back to the jubilee field, giving the jubilee a much wider unit area. Mr Ayeetey said, “the expanded unit area and plateau of the Jubilee Field will then be referred to as the Greater Jubilee.” “The discussions on the Greater Jubilee field are ongoing and the plan of development is yet to be approved by the Petroleum Minister, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah,” he added. Currently, the Jubilee has been producing about 80,000 barrels per day on average in the first quarter of the year. “This is under the production level of the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO Kwame Nkrumah) since it is experiencing a technical challenge that is being resolved,” he said. The low production levels of the FPSO is said to be a contributing factor to the current power outages being experienced in the country. This is because Ghana Gas is not receiving enough gas from the FPSO to be supplied to the thermal plants at the Aboadze enclave in the Western Region.

US gov 't committed to promoting trad in Ghana

The United States government has reiterated its pledge to support trade and investment in the country. The American government has over the years contributed to the development of Ghana’s economy through trade agreements. It would be recalled that in December last year, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Bureau, Linda Thomas Greenfield, revealed that the US government had reviewed the 15-year-old law that will allow Made-in-Ghana goods access to duty- free tariff in the United States. According to her, the United States was ever ready to trade with Ghana and other African countries as sourcing and investment destinations for international buyers of apparel, textile, leather, and home décor. The embassy in Accra on Saturday, June 25, 2016, reiterated the American government’s commitment by indicating that the department of commerce had expanded operations in Ghana. The embassy tweeted: "U.S. government is committed to promoting trade, investment in GH.Our Department of Commerce has expanded operations in Ghana." US Embassy Ghana ✔@USEmbassyGhana "We are committed to Ghana's econ dev'ment. But driving force is you: the Ghanaian entrepreneur and business leader." #AmbRPJ #AciEntrprnr 5:30 AM - 25 Jun 2016

Canada - Ghana Chamber of Commerce supports business

M The Canada-Ghana Chamber of Commerce (CGCC), has organised a seminar to deepen knowledge of business owners on digital media application to help reposition them grow their companies in a competitive technological environment. The businesspersons were taken through social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Whatsapp and Tweeter as functional and robust powerful tools for marketing business products and services. Mr Maximus Ametorgah, Chief Executive Officer of Popout Limited and Digital Marketing Lead told corporate business to take advantage of the new media trends by “taping into digital media to expand their business.” He quoted copious figures from latest statistics about various digital media tools, and said for instance, as at February 2016, there were 1.6 billion monthly active Facebook users around the globe while 3.5 million Ghanaians were on Facebook. There were also one billion active Whatsapp users, he said, and “Ghana uses whatsapp more creatively than other countries,” since most Ghanaians use the tool for business and social purposes either than for personal usage. He noted that social media tools present huge benefits for business growth since it makes it easier than ever for businesses to directly target customers with marketing campaigns and promote new products or services. Companies could also build brand awareness, personally interact with existing and potential customers via photos, audio or audio-visuals and measure referrals from social media activity to sales, he added. Digital analysts observe that over the past several years, social media has exhibited an exponential penetration into the daily lives of individuals, operations of businesses, and the interaction between governments and people. Citing the Dutch airline KLM that employ about 150 managers of social media to respond to customers enquires within 20 minutes, Mr Ametorgah urged companies to employ social media managers to supervise their platforms for effective use. The president of CGCC, Mr Salah Kweku Kalmoni told the Ghana News Agency that opportunities abound in the social media and Ghanaian businesses ought to exploit to improve performance as other companies have done. “I think some of us have taken advantage, but I think majority of us need to take this advantage, there is a big opportunity of taking advantage of them [social media], not only exposing our goods and services but also getting customer feedback.” “We at the CGCC believe social media is one the new tools for marketing, there are six types [those popular in Ghana] but whatsapp is becoming the new trend, so we focus on that among other things, when you do that it allows you to continue your relationship with your customers.” Mrs Rafiya Yekeen, Sales and Marketing Executive at McDan, a shipping company, expressed joy to have learnt new ways of reaching out and connecting to customers much cheaper and easier. “You know businesses are established to make profits, I am just hoping that this new way of using the social media to market will improve on my business so that I can make profit.” The CGCC is committed to provide vital information and services to facilitate investment flows into Ghana by helping organisations discover attractive investment opportunities in specific industries. The business network enables smaller entities to participate in direct investment by giving them guidance for doing business.

Great minds on , absolutely for your praise oh Lord!

Mahama inaugurates GIHOC Distillery plant

 President John Dramani?Mahama last Thursday inaugurated a new production plant for the GIHOC?Distilleries and dispelled the perception that state enterprises could not perform effectively.

The plant, which is expected to improve production, was an outcome of the five-year strategic plan of the company.

GIHOC Distilleries is one of the 15 sub-divisions of the GIHOC Ghana Limited established by Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s CPP government.

With the exception of the distilleries, which remained state owned, the remaining 14 have been divested after years of mismanagement and decay.

“I feel proud”

“So today as I stand here, I feel a sense of pride about what we have been able to do as a people,” the President said at the inauguration, which formed part of his accounting to the people tour of the Greater Accra Region.

The President said his vision was to recapture the dream of Dr Nkrumah “and we are doing it step by step” either through operating fully state-owned enterprises or through public private partnership.

He commended the board and management of the company for working hard to bring the company this far.

“All is about leadership. If you have the right leadership in place that captures the confidence of workers, you will be on the path of success,” he said.

President Mahama said systematically, the programme to revitalise some of the old state factories was on course.

He mentioned the Kumasi Shoe Factory and the Komenda Sugar Factory as examples of the strides the government was making in that respect.

The Tema Oil Refinery was also doing well, the President said, while the State Transport Company (STC) was in line for resurgence as 50 new buses had been ordered to augment its fleet.

But he was quick to speak against attempts by some people to spell doom for the sugar factory when efforts put in place to run the factory indicated a bright future for the facility.

He said naysayers who were quick to write off the factory would be disappointed.

The Managing Director of the company, Madam Kate Simmons, said the company, which was established in 1958, was on a journey of progress.

Currently, it has a workforce of 312 with majority of them being women.

Madam Simmons said the company was determined to grow and help in the further development of the nation.

President Mahama also inaugurated the Millennium School at Mamprobi, inspected the SSNIT-sponsored Gym Complex site, interacted with the fishing community and residents of Chorkor and its environs, inspected work on the Teshie-Manet-Spintex road, and called on the La Mantse and his elders as he rounded off his tour of the region.

Great own minds

Africa Worldview launches biggest online educational platform in Ghana

As part of efforts to enhance teaching and learning in the country and beyond, Africa Worldview Limited has introduced an online educational platform. The platform is dubbed “Smart StudyKit” which seeks to offer students, teachers and school administrators the easy way to learn online via Web and Mobile Applications. According to Chief Operating Officer of Africa World View Ltd., Kojo Impraim the product seeks to facilitate easier, interactive, lively and comprehensive teaching and learning at Junior and Senior School levels. It also seeks to leverage access to quality education for both regular and remedial students offering them the opportunity to determine their learning pace and not the reverse where the teacher decides the pace. “The advantage is that you are able to learn and complete the syllabus well advanced before you start preparing towards examination”. Kojo Impraim further explained “Apart from giving students the opportunity and flexibility to learn and cover the syllabus (Ghana Education Service and West African Examination Council syllabus), It also afford remedial students the access to learn and practice solved past questions from 2006-2015(both Paper 1 & 2) of English Language, Mathematics and Integrated Science to be able to pass their exams with flying colors. Speaking at the launch which took place on Tuesday, June 7, 2016 at the Accra International Conference Centre, renowned educationist, Annis Haffer described the “Smart StudyKit” product as the biggest online educational platform which does not only aim at serving the intellectual demands of pre-tertiary schools across Ghana and other West African Countries but also has the capability of reducing examination malpractice. He lauded Africa Worldview Limited for the initiative, calling on all and sundry to quickly subscribe to the platform in order to explore the enormous benefit at stake. The product comes with variety of unique features including user-friendliness, interactive learning, paperless classroom, exercises and quizzes, self-centered and independent tuition and can be tapped into with free registration online at www.smartstudykit.com and with the lowest subscription fee of GH? 3.00.00. Subscribers are also welcome on board to either purchase Smart StudyKit scratch cards from the following outlets including UT Bank, Max Mart, Ghanaye Premier, Goil fuel stations, Ghana Post or make payments via mobile money, visa and master card payment gateways. Africa Worldview Ltd. is a Ghanaian-based firm, specialised in research and data publication with the aim of projecting Africa's rich history and culture using technology across the world. Transferring true African values through Education, Traditions and Culture, Mother-Tongue Hermeneutics, Entrepreneurship, Religion, Political and Economic History to stakeholders across the globe

Black Stars should not expect high bonuses :-Jon Benjamin

The British High Commissioner to Ghana Jon Benjamin has said professional footballers who are earning well in their clubs should not be expecting high bonuses when called for national duties. “...For example, I bet everyone in this room could hazard a guess at Avram Grant’s starting eleven for the next Black Stars fixture against Mauritius tomorrow. And, incidentally, on that I hold the very old-fashioned view that already highly paid footballers given the high and patriotic honour of representing their countries should not also expect large appearance bonuses for doing so,” the outspoken diplomat told a gathering at the Sports writers awards over the weekend. Commenting further on sports, Mr. Benjamin urged sports journalists in the country to give fair coverage to the other sporting disciplines in order to encourage the athletes. “I would appeal to you, the sportswriters of Ghana to do a little more to balance reporting across the entire spectrum of Ghanaian sport”. Below is the full speech of Mr. Benjamin I am so delighted to have been asked to speak here today and thank the Sportwriters Association of Ghana for their kind invitation. The British High Commission is committed to partnership with Ghanaian media houses. Indeed, we regard our collaboration with you as an essential part of our work here. I’d particularly like to greet my friend the Honourable Minister for Youth and Sports, as this is my first chance to thank him publicly for the time and effort he spent last week in accompanying our royal visitor, HRH Prince Edward during his visit to Ghana. HRH was mostly here to promote the Duke of Edinburgh’s award scheme and its Ghanaian affiliate, the Head of State Awards Scheme. And that served as useful reminder that the Minister oversees the Ministry of Youth and Sport, not just the Ministry of Sport, so I really hope the visit was useful for your important task, too, Honourable: thank you again. But it is, indeed, sport that brings us together this evening. And sport is about its players and participants, its administrators, its followers, indeed all those who are passionate about it, and above all, this evening, it is about those who write about it. When I say sport, I do mean all sport, not just football. But, let’s face it, it’s scarcely a secret - in Ghana, in the UK and in a clear majority of all the countries around the world, football is the number one sport, and often by a very large distance. So, let’s start with football. My own single earliest memory is from when I was just 3 ½, the same age my own son is now. I recall vaguely people jumping up and down in the front room of our then house in front of the TV - an unfeasibly chunky and not very reliable box with an unstable, grainy black and white picture - as England won the World Cup. It was 1966. And of course, England won particularly thanks to the efforts of three players – Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters, all of whom played for West Ham United at the time. So, completely neutrally and objectively of course, I think it’s fair to say that, in fact, West Ham won the World Cup. That’s what I choose to believe anyway! But it’s been a very long wait since then, exactly half a century in fact for England to win anything else. But I know that all of you sportswriters here are about confidently to write or broadcast next week that England will win Euro 2016. Just as I know that many of you predicted last August that Leicester City were going to win the English Premier League – I know that because some of you have claimed to me recently that you did, indeed, tip Leicester, though I am struggling to find the evidence! In fact, how could England not win the Euros with 18-year old wonder kid Marcus Rashford up front? And, yes, Ladies and Gentlemen – 18 year old Marcus, really is ... 18. A player's football and official age should of course always happily coincide. Now, I expect that all of you here are of the common opinion that sports writing

constant rise in FSI level could trigger rebound on GSE

   

The financial stock index [FSI], a key determinant of the daily market returns on the bourse has lagged behind the composite index for some time now on the bourse probably due to the sluggish performance of the banking and finance industry in Ghana. The main contributors to the index level are listed banks on the stock market. The FSI current level is at 1646.69 with a year-to-date change of -14.68% on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE). The high NPL ratios, the increase in the Cost- to-Income ratios of most banks as well as the low turnout of profits from the banking sector has contributed significantly to the downturn of general returns on the equity market. Economic pressures and the issue of financial integrity may play a significant role in determining the future of the FSI level and the returns on market as a whole. Market returns are currently in the negatives probably due to the fact that some financial institutions recorded poor results and in some cases losses in their books of accounts at the end of 2015. Some key indicators such as the level of customer deposits, Profits-After-Tax [PAT] and Cost to income ratio determine the fundamentals of the banking sector. Most listed financial equities such as Ecobank Transnational Incorporated [ETI], CAL, Ecobank Ghana [EGH] and GCB contribute significantly to liquidity on the bourse and price movements of financial stocks are significant in the attraction of foreign investors to the market. Groupe Nduom (GN) Analysts posit that consistent improvement in the current level of the FSI will be a key driver to trigger a market rebound. Trading activity on the bourse ended with 1 gainer [PZC] and 1 loser [BOPP] yesterday. ETI topped trading chart as 132,300 shares worth GHS 25,142.00 changed hands. Returns on the Composite and Financial Stock Index pegged at -12.20% and -14.68% respectively. Activity on the Ghana Alternative Market (GAX) was hushed as no shares traded yesterday. HORDS currently lead record capital gains on the GAX, appreciating by 25% from year open. The Cedi lost to the Dollar and the Pound but gained to the Euro yesterday. The local currency exchanged at a mid-rate of GHS 3.8402 to the USD, GHS 5.5423to the GBP and GHS 4.2646 to the EURO. The GCFM Cedi index, a measure of the holistic performance of the Cedi on the interbank market now records a year-to-date depreciation of 1.40%.

Jon Benjamin Lunch initiative to prosper SME's

n Benjamin, the British High Commissioner, on Wednesday launched, in Accra, an initiative aimed at growing small and medium enterprises dubbed: “Capital SMEs”. Capital SME’s current target is to support a minimum of five SMEs in listing on the Ghana Alternative Market (GAX) within one year of implementation. The primary objective of the project is boosting the capital market activity in Ghana and encouraging more SMEs to list on the GAX, which is the alternative stock market, administered by the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE). It is targeted at small businesses “with potential for growth”. Further stages of the project include increased engagement with Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) and financial institutions to support the development of the capital market; and hosting of informative conferences and related networking events. Mr Benjamin said an economic growth that created jobs was simply the best way of helping developing countries to eradicate poverty. He said what Ghana and other developing countries really needed was to create jobs; explaining that, “Due to population growth, creating jobs for today and tomorrow’s youth is extremely important”. He said governments must set-up the framework and create the congenial atmosphere, which would allow the private sector to create jobs. “It is SMEs, which becomes big enterprises to create jobs”. Mr Benjamin said industries that create jobs could transform the lives of the growing population. “Our basic aim is to stimulate private-sector led growth in Ghana by encouraging more SMEs to list on the GAX,” he said. He said the British High Commission would continue to work with the government and civil societies to help SMEs to overcome barriers to growth; thereby secure a competitive environment within which businesses could thrive. He said the Capital SME idea was borne by the then Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Alan Yarrow, during his visit to Accra in October 2015, in collaboration with Barclays, as part of efforts to stimulate economic growth. Mrs Magdalene Apenteng, the Director of the Public Investment Division, Ministry of Finance, said SMEs would continue to remain the backbone of Ghana’s economy due to the important role of stimulating domestic demand through job creation, innovation and competition. “There is no doubt that SMEs have the potential to mobile domestic resources and boost international trade and demand,” she said. “Prioritising SME development is, therefore, critical for promoting inclusive economic growth globally.” She affirmed the government’s commitment to supporting the rapid growth of the SMEs sector to position it to play the desired role in Ghana’s pursuit for efficient, vibrant and liquid capital market. Dr Adu Anane Antwi, the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said the 2013 Banking Survey Report estimates that about 90 per cent of companies registered in Ghana were SMEs and the sector contributed to about 49 per cent of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product in 2012. He said these SMEs were, however, facing many challenges with the major one being how to access finance. He attributed the situation to the perception that SMEs were risk ventures

Mahama grabs national highest award in Cote d lvoire

President John Dramani Mahama has received the highest national award the Grand Croix, in Côte d'Ivoire. The Ivorian President, Alasanne Ouattara decorated President Mahama at a ceremony in Abidjan on his official visit to the country. President Mahama´s meeting with Alasanne Ouattara centred on boosting economic activities between the two countries, and also to strengthen regional integration efforts of the sub-region. President Mahama was accompanied by his wife, Lordina, and a high powered government delegation and he is expected to return to Accra today. President John Dramani Mahama has received the highest national award the Grand Croix, in Côte d'Ivoire. The Ivorian President, Alasanne Ouattara decorated President Mahama at a ceremony in Abidjan on his official visit to the country. President Mahama´s meeting with Alasanne Ouattara centred on boosting economic activities between the two countries, and also to strengthen regional integration efforts of the sub-region. President Mahama was accompanied by his wife, Lordina, and a high powered government delegation and he is expected to return to Accra today.