Population (2021): 30.8 million GDP (2021): US$58 billion World Bank “Ease of Doing Business” Rank (2020): 118 Bilateral Trade with Singapore (2021): S$250.6 million
Ghana has one of the largest stock exchanges in Africa; in 2022, its exchange had an estimated market capitalisation of over US$8 billion (S$11 billion).1 The country ranks 101st in economic freedom2. It is also the best destination in West Africa and 5th on the continent3. The country is also the 2nd most competitive economy in West African sub region and the 13th in Sub Saharan Africa4. In terms of foreign direct investments (FDI), it is the 1st destination in West Africa and 4th in Sub-Saharan Africa5.
In 2019, Ghana’s bilateral trade with Singapore amounted to S$261.2 million. As there are already ongoing trade relations, Singapore businesses are in a good position to partner with Ghanaian counterparts. In both countries, the private sector shares similar interests in oil and gas, as well as export businesses.
1 “Ghana Stock Exchange.” World Federation of Exchanges, 2022 2 The Heritage Foundation, 2018 3 AT Kearney Global Services Location Index, 2019 4 World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index 2018 5 EY Attractiveness Programme, Oct 2018
According to the Marsh Political Risk Map (2018), Ghana is one of the most politically stable countries in West Africa. The state transitioned to a multi-party democracy in 1992, and has held free elections for the past two decades. According to Transparency International, Ghana ranked as the second least corrupt state in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 20116.
Ghana’s stability has drawn long-term investors and foreign businesses alike. The country also maintains strong relations with the international community, as one of the leading examples of democracy in West Africa.
6 “Keep calm and carry on: A strong and stable democracy has been built over the years”, Oxford Business Group.
Ghana Vision 2020 is an ongoing programme aimed at accelerating the state’s economic growth. Initiated in 1995, the plan promotes private sector growth, and aggressive public spending on industrialisation, infrastructure, and social services. If the programme’s progress is maintained, Ghana’s goals of reaching high-income economy status, and newly industrialised country status, can be realised between 2020 and 2039.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has launched Ghana CARES, an unprecedented, bold, and audacious GHS100 billion programme to stabilise, revitalise and transform Ghana’s economy to create jobs and prosperity over a three-year period. It is a two-phase programme:
The general corporate tax rate in Ghana is 35% for upstream petroleum companies, but only 25% for most other industries. Hospitality related businesses pay taxes of only around 22%.
Ghana’s government has also taken significant steps to be more business friendly. According to the World Bank’s Doing Business report in 2018, the time for setting up a business in Ghana is now 14 days, down from 33 days in 2010.
Ghana became an oil producer in 2010. In 2013, Ghana produced 115,000 to 200,000 barrels of crude oil a day. Ghana’s oil and gas industry is growing, with a total proven reserve base of approximately 883 million barrels of oil in 2014. In 2020, it exported US$2.71 billion (S$3.77 billion) worth of crude petroleum, making the market the 27th largest exporter of Crude Petroleum in the world.7.
At present, Ghana has over 36,000 km2 and 103,600 km2 of open offshore and onshore acreages. This number is expected to grow, with ongoing efforts in oil and gas exploration.
New output from Ghana’s Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme (TEN) and Sankofa fields, when combined with the Jubilee field, are expected to boost Ghana's oil and gas production significantly in 2020. This provides growing opportunities for the oil and gas sector, as well as tangentially related services8.
Oil and gas companies from Singapore are well positioned to provide the expertise and equipment needed, in Ghana’s young oil-producing industry.
To stay updated on Ghana market information and insights, subscribe to our newsletter.
7 “Crude Petroleum in Ghana.” Observatory of Economic Complexity, 2020. 8 “Ghana’s Oil Industry: Steady growth in a challenging environment”, The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, April 2018.