FDI in Ghana’s Property Market

Ghana should be an attractive nation for foreign direct investment (FDI) - after all it is incredibly well endowed with natural resources and it has a forward thinking government which is, on the whole, committed to the economic improvement of the nation and the social improvement of its citizens’ lives.  Yet a detailed study by the African Economic Research Consortium and the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research shows that FDI in Ghana’s property market and across the nation as a whole is too low and that Ghana is not doing enough to attract the levels of international investment that it could and should – we take a look at what’s going on in Ghana.

The trouble with attracting foreign direct investment is that there is only so much to go around - and while Ghana should be one of the strongest nations in Western Africa for FDI because it has an abundance of resources such as gold and timber and it has a wealth of potential for tourism as it is politically stable and stunningly beautiful, it has just not done enough to be the most competitive FDI candidate. 

A leading representative from the Department of Economics at the University of Ghana recently commented on the findings of the FDI report from the African Economic Research Consortium and the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research and he highlighted the fact that Ghana is restricting its own economic development by failing to attract foreign direct investment as a result of its outdated and excessive amounts of bureaucratic involvement in business.

The Ghana Real Estate Developers Association couldn’t agree more and they are actively lobbying the government in Ghana for an easing of restrictions affecting the property industry, a relaxation of control of property financing and an improvement in the transparency of property law in Ghana.  The Ghana Real Estate Developers Association have so far been quite successful in achieving many of their objectives – so much so that the World Bank in their “Doing Business” report recently picked Ghana out as having made concerted efforts to improve transparency to benefit the business environment.

So – while FDI in Ghana is currently too low all that could be about to change because the nation really is attempting to live up to its potential and develop a successful property market, an attractive tourism market and a strong economy.

So far the government has acknowledged that there are hurdles in place that prevent international property investors and multi-national businesses from entering Ghana – not because they believe there is no potential but because they strongly feel that the business environment is not conducive to successful company growth and the generation of maximum profits.

In a bid to improve things the government is initially targeting the attraction of FDI in the Ghana property market.  Earlier this month in a meeting with the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association a representative from the government spoke extensively about their commitment and active plans to solve the nation’s housing problem, boost the real estate industry and hopefully create a property market where foreign investors are happy to get involved.

Direct action that will be taken according to the government representative includes releasing land for development, stabilizing the price of building materials, investing into the production of locally sourced materials as a way of benefiting the economy on multiple levels, getting the Social Security and National Insurance Trust more involved in financing property construction and looking into the development of local home financing options and finally developing property bonds as a way of raising investment.

While it is clear from the African Economic Research Consortium and the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research report into FDI in Ghana that the nation is not currently achieving the levels of investment it should, the government and private sector are both actively committed to improving the general business climate and Ghana’s property market to position Ghana as the leading nation in the Western African sub-region for foreign direct investment.

Special Reports: Property News for Ghana

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Property investors seeking an emerging real estate market offering unlimited potential with residential and commercial opportunities should consider Ghana

Ghana Property Buying Guide
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Ghana Property Investor’s Country Guide
The long term potential in the real estate market in Ghana for property investors is massive.