The Vice President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, said yesterday that the $40 million EXIM Bank loan being supported by Ecowas Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) would be used to support the salt and agro-based industries in the country.

He said this in Accra when private sector and government officials met the president of the EDIB to discuss debt financing and repayment guarantees for private sector projects from financial institutions in the country.

Ghana Commercial Bank and the National Investment Bank, which are being guaranteed for by the EBID, would disburse the loan, which has been made available by HSBC Equator Bank of the United States. Alhaji Mahama further stated that, the beauty of the loan is that, it would have symbiotic objectives of imports from the USA to support local industries to produce for export to the states.

The vice president noted that, the relationship between the country and the bank would continue to be cordial and wished that the bank would arrange similar facilities with other financial institutions in the country.

With this loan in place, Alhaji Mahama noted, the objectives of the government to accelerate production of local raw materials into value-added products in the garment, cassava starch and the oil palm industries would be achieved.

The Minister of Private Sector Development, Hon. Kwamena Bartels, held that the $40 million medium term loan is for the private sector to purchase machinery and equipment, guaranteed by the EXIM bank also from the USA as well as for working capital.

The minister further stated that since majority shares of local banks, except SSB Bank, are owned by the state, EXIM Bank could not guarantee this facility to the private sector. He explained that it was because of this that $19 million worth of projects in the agro-processing industry was being concretised between the country and the bank. He asked the private sector to take full advantage of this facility to help build a better Ghana.

The Trade and Industry minister, Dr. Kofi Kunadu Apraku, also said that the government would come out very soon with a loan guarantee scheme for micro, small and medium scale enterprises to enable them to access credit from commercial banks.

He also mentioned that his ministry had established the Ghana Investment Fund (GIF) to provide the financial needs of the private and industrial sector. "The fund would be used for start up and to establish new strategic industries", he added. He said that the fund had so far not been capitalized due to budgetary constraint.

Dr. Apraku revealed that his ministry has drafted "Domestic Content Bill" which would be placed before Parliament. He said that the bill sought to compel industries in the country to use a significant portion of the raw materials from the country.

The president of the EBID, Mr. Christian Adovelande, said that the bank had found out that the private sector has the potential of pushing up the growth in the sub-region and so it had revised its aims to also support programmes that would help the private sector to grow at a faster rate.