Business News of Wednesday, 17 April 2024

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

IMF projects 4.4% economic growth rate for Ghana in 2025

International Monetary Fund (IMF) International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Ghana is projected to witness a robust economic growth rate of 4.4 percent for 2025.

The forecast, made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is a substantial increase from the 2.8 percent projected growth rate earlier made for 2024.

The announcement was made by the Fund in its latest April World Economic Outlook at the ongoing IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington DC, USA.

It further underscores growing optimism about Ghana’s positive economic path.

The latest IMF projection also places Ghana’s economic trajectory above some of its peers in Sub-Sahara Africa in terms of growth rate for 2025 while signaling positive signs of a recovering economy impacted by unsustainable debt levels, inflationary pressures and currency volatility post COVID-19.

However, the IMF said it anticipates a decline in Ghana’s current account balance of -2.2 percent. This is despite maintaining a positive outlook for Ghana’s economy with a rebound anticipated in 2025.

In December 2022, Ghana experienced one of its worst economic downturns as it defaulted on making payments on most of its external debt, consisting of $30 billion.

The country has since been shut out from international capital markets and has now resorted to the domestic treasury bill markets for borrowing.

Ghana, which is currently under a 17th IMF bailout programme, on April 13, 2024, reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF Mission team on a second review that will pave the way for a third instalment of the bailout funds of $360 million.

IMF Mission Chief to Ghana, Stephane Roudet, during a joint presser held in Accra, however, urged Ghanaian authorities to secure a deal with its commercial and bilateral creditors for the IMF Management and Executive Board to approve the next disbursement.

MA/NOQ