Ghana

Why trade or invest in Ghana?

Ghana is a country of economic and political stability, a large market in West Africa located on the gulf of guinea and was the first Sub-Saharan African country to gain independence after World War two (in 1957).  It has a population to over 23 million people that is still growing. Its’ capital is Accra and the official language is English. It is one of the stable countries in West Africa, both on political and economic level this has made it a regional power in West Africa. The per capita income is higher than in the surrounding countries.

Ghana is a member of the African Union, Non-Aligned Movement and is also a member of organizations involved in production, agriculture and international trade such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), UNCTAD, the and the Group of 24 (G24).  Ghana is endowed with abundant natural resources, especially the export of gold, cocoa, hardwood, diamonds and bauxite brings lots of money to the country. The agriculture is also a very important source of income to the country which provides 35 % GDP.

In the recent years, oil fields were found at the Ghanaian coast, which can make the state to be the third oil producer in Africa.  With the oil fields in mind, Chinese investors borrowed money to Ghana for the development of energy, agriculture and transport.

Some particularities of the Ghana legal system you should know

It is interesting to invest in Ghana, not only because of its’ peaceful and stable environment, but mainly because of its’ wealth of resources, democratic political system and dynamic economy, it is one of Africa’s leading lights.  The government has opened its arms widely to attract foreign investment through the acquisition of capital, entrepreneurial and managerial skills and technology.

Another attractive factor is the package of incentives which include easy remittance of dividends, profits, tax incentives and a liberalized import regime and foreign exchange transactions.

Corporate Tax

The cost of doing business is also feasible compared to doing business in Europe, the business registration, employment, taxes, … are at reasonable cost.

The laws and regulations about doing business in Ghana is mainly regulated in international norms and is based on a framework of legislation relating to business activity, patents, disputes and labor relations. The Key Investment related legislation in Ghana is the ‘Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Act 2013, Act 865. Ghana also subscribes to a number of international conventions on industrial and intellectual property.  Also interesting is that there is a Treaty of 22.06.2005 between Belgium and Ghana for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and on capital gains.  And last but not least, Ghana has also been recognized by the World Bank Doing Business Report 2014 as the ‘Best Place for Doing Business in the ECOWAS Region”

Welcome to Ghana, the land of Gold!

Whom we work for

A-Law experienced lawyers welcome all clients in need of legal advice including legal defense with regard to the investment and trade projects in or from Ghana.  Guiding foreign investors into the Ghanaian corporate and bank regulations, license requests and public procurement policies may constitute a challenge on its own.

A-Law has built up this expertise as well as provided multiple legal services to Ghanaian companies providing engineering, IT, construction, logistics services in other EU and non EU countries involving i.a. tax, labor, migration and IP issues.  A-Law Ghana desk has been providing legal support to clients in different areas, such as real estate issues, corporate and civil (family) law, traffic law, migration law, liability law and debts recovery (bankruptcy, administrative fines).

An in-depth approach of the different legal aspects of cross border cooperation and trade, commercial agency, distribution and franchising of a wide variety of products exported from or imported into Ghana have been assessed through A-Law dedicated team.

For more information about our services on Ghana, contact our in-house Ghanian | Belgian Attorney-At-Law Paulina Boamah, Head Ghana Desk at info@a-law.eu