Latest news with #MinistryofFinance
The Star
2 hours ago
- Business
- The Star
Ghana sees economic recovery backed by policy coordination: central bank
ACCRA, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Bank of Ghana Governor Johnson Asiama said Tuesday that the country's economy has been recovering, thanks to synchronized policy implementation between the central bank and the Ministry of Finance. Asiama said during a business breakfast meeting that the local cedi currency had appreciated by more than 42 percent between January and June, reversing the declines of the previous two years. According to him, gross international reserves stood at 11.1 billion U.S. dollars by the end of June, up from 8.98 billion dollars at the end of 2024, with a trade surplus of 4.14 billion dollars in the first four months of 2025, as exports grew by over 60 percent, mainly from gold, cocoa and crude oil. Moreover, the governor said the West African country's current account surplus improved significantly to 2.12 billion dollars in the first quarter of 2025, compared to just 66 million dollars a year earlier, as remittance inflows remained resilient. The governor said that the outcomes are more than just statistical improvements but mark a restoration of macroeconomic credibility. He added that the outcomes were due to the firm monetary policy stance of the Bank of Ghana, raising and holding the policy rate at 28 percent, complemented by the government's prudent fiscal management. Ghana's three-year reforms, supported by the International Monetary Fund, have passed four successive reviews, with the sovereign credit rating agency Fitch Ratings upgrading the country's long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating to "B-" from "restricted default" in June, following an upgrade by Standard and Poor's from "selective default" to "CCC+" in May.
Bloomberg
4 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Angola Delays Plan to Sell Eurobond, Turns to Domestic Borrowing
Angola delayed a plan to sell eurobonds this year, citing market volatility that's undermined investor confidence. Authorities held a global roadshow earlier this year, which indicated favorable conditions for a sale in April or May, Dorivaldo Teixeira, director general of the Ministry of Finance's debt management unit, said at a conference in Luanda, the capital, on Tuesday. But rising geopolitical risk and falling oil prices prompted a rethink, he said.
Zawya
9 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
Ghana: Finance Minister Inaugurates New Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) Board
The Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has inaugurated a seven-member Board for the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC). The new Board members are: Mr. Mike Kofi Afflu – Chairperson Mr. Albert Kwadwo Twum Boafo – Chief Executive Ms. Grace Mbrokoh-Ewoal – Ministry of Finance/Member Ms. Elizabeth Ama Yankah – National Security/member Dr. Kwasi Osei Yeboah – Member A representative from the Ministry of the Interior (Senior Police Officer) A representative from the Attorney-General's Department The Board has been tasked with supporting Ghana's fight against money laundering, terrorism financing, and other financial crimes. The FIC plays a crucial role in protecting Ghana's financial system, especially as fraud and financial crimes become more sophisticated. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Finance - Republic of Ghana.
Zawya
16 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
Central Bank of Oman issues treasury bills worth over $26mln
Muscat: The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) announced Monday that the total value of government treasury bills allocated this week amounted to OMR 10.25 million. The bank explained in a statement today that these bills are allocated for a maturity period of 91 days, with an average accepted price of OMR 98.941, and a minimum accepted price of OMR 98.930 per OMR 100. The average discount rate was 4.24871 percent, and the average return was 4.29421 percent. The statement indicated that the interest rate on repurchase operations with the CBO on these bills is 5 percent, while the discount rate on the CBO treasury bill facility is 5.50 percent. Treasury bills are a short-term, secured financial instrument issued by the Ministry of Finance to provide investment opportunities for licensed commercial banks. The CBO acts as the issue manager for these bills. © Dar Al Sharq Press, Printing and Distribution. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Business Recorder
18 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
SME, agri financing: Aurangzeb lauds SBP and banks for stellar growth
KARACHI: The Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday appreciated the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and banks for achieving stellar growth of 41 percent in SME finance and appreciable growth of 15 percent in agri financing during FY25. He was addressing a meeting of banks' CEOs/Presidents at SBP head office Karachi. The meeting was co-chaired by the Governor SBP Jameel Ahmad and also attended by Chairman Pakistan Banks Association Zafar Masood, senior officials of Ministry of Finance and the SBP. According to an statement issued by the Khurram Schehzad Advisor to finance minister, during the meeting Minister also emphasized that the macroeconomic stability has been achieved through difficult and unpopular decisions and collaborative efforts of all stakeholders including SBP and banks. Embrace SME financing as core business, SBP asks banks He added that the Government is pursuing sustainable and inclusive economic growth for which the role of SMEs and agriculture sectors is pivotal. He emphasized that the banks should work with the same sprit to enhance priority sector financing with a particular focus on increasing outreach to the small and marginalized segments and underserved areas in digital settings. Governor Jameel Ahmad in his welcome address expressed gratitude to the finance minister for taking various initiative for promotion of priority sector financing including introduction of risk coverage schemes for SMEs and Agri finance. While expressing satisfaction over the growth in SME and Agri finance during FY25, he emphasized banks to aggressively expand their exposures in the priority sector given the incentive structure put in place by government. Deputy Governor SBP Saleemullah made a detailed presentation on the progress made by banks in agriculture and SME financing and digitization. During FY25, agriculture credit disbursement reached to Rs2,535 billion which is 14 percent higher than FY24. Moreover, the outstanding credit portfolio increased by 12 percent to Rs981 billion with number of borrowers increasing by 9 percent to 2.95 million at the end of FY25. Likewise, outstanding SME financing has reached to Rs 692 billion with around 272,600 borrowers at the end of FY25 witnessing unprecedented growth of 41% in financing and 55 percent in number of borrowers. The chairman PBA appreciated the SBP and Ministry of Finance for the continuous support to the banking industry in promoting agriculture and SME financing and the development of digitization ecosystem. On behalf of the banking industry, the chairman PBA pledged to expand priority sector financing at an accelerated pace during FY26 as well. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
