The Italian Foreign Ministry in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce of Modena in Emilia Romagna Region (the second industrialised Region in Italy) provided a business platform for Ghana and three other African countries namely: Mozambique, Ethiopia and Angola, to showcase investment opportunities existing in their respective countries to prospective investors in Italy.

These countries were invited as a result of their record of consistent economic growth. The event held in Modena attracted over one hundred and sixty industrialists, company representatives, cooperate bodies, bankers, journalists and individual entrepreneurs. Present were officials of the Italian Foreign Ministry and Modena Emilia Romagna Region. Ghana was represented at the forum by Mr. Charles Baah (Deputy Ambassador of the Embassy of Ghana in Italy) and Mr. Simon Atieku (Counsellor in charge of Economic, Trade and Investment of the Embassy).

Mr. Charles Baah who took the participants through the presentation with graphic illustrations, comprehensively told a compelling story about Ghana – enough to convince any investor to invest in the country. He disclosed that Italy was playing a key role in Ghana’s infrastructure development, particularly, in the energy and construction sector. His lists of investment opportunities were on oil and gas services, energy, infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, ICT and financial services. Ghana, he said, registered a total of 3,994 projects between September 1994 and September, 2011 valued at about US$20.1billion whilst a total of 95 Italian registered investments between the same periods were over US$ 149.40million. He mentioned incentives available to investors among them were: (i) tax holidays ranging from 5-10 years depending on the sector, (ii) automatic immigrant quota depending on paid-up capital, (iii) accelerated depreciation for plant and building, (iv) 5-year loss carry-over and R&D expenditure deductibility, (v) relief from double taxation for foreign investors and employees (where applicable).

“These were some of the investment incentives designed by the government of Ghana to attract investors to invest in the country,” he told the participants.

The Deputy Ambassador also made it known to the participants that investors coming to invest in Ghana can have full repatriation of dividends and net profits attributed to investment; transfer of funds in respect of servicing of foreign loans; guarantee against expropriation as enshrined in the Constitution of Ghana and remittance of proceeds in the sale on liquidation of investment.

Four Italian investors already doing business in Africa including Ghana, among them Mr. Luigi Cremonini who has been operating business in Ghana since 1975, spoke about his vivid experiences in the country and urged his other Italian investors to go and invest in Africa.

Participants at the forum asked questions and received favourable responses from the presenters.