Doing business and investing in Ghana - PwC

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Doing business and investing in Ghana

2018

Preface

Doing Business and Investing in Ghana ? 2018 is published by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Ghana. This publication is intended to provide a quick overview of the business environment in Ghana.

We have endeavoured to take reasonable care in compiling this publication, which presents the position of Ghana in respect of the geographic facts, economic performance, economic sectors, investment climate, forms of business organisations, business and accounting practices, taxation regimes, etc., as at the dates stated in this publication.

Please note that information presented in this publication has been prepared for quick reference and general guidance purposes only, and does not constitute the provision of professional advice on any particular matters.

PwC is a global network of firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. The firms that make up the network are committed to working together to provide industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services to build public trust and solve important problems in society.

The Ghana firm, which is a full member of the network of firms of PwC, has unrestrained access to the global firm's vast resource base of proprietary knowledge, methodologies and experience.

Our team of multidisciplinary professionals is able to assist you with every matter related to this publication and to advise investors as to the best way to do business in Ghana.

Office locations in Ghana and Sierra Leone

Accra office No.12 Airport City Una Home, 3rd Floor PMB CT 42 Cantonments Accra ? Ghana

Telephone: +233 (0) 302761500 Facsimile: +233 (0) 302761544 Email: pwc.ghana@gh. Website: gh

Takoradi office Plot No. 31, GK Ntow Street South Chapel Hill Takoradi ? Ghana

Telephone: +233 (0) 312028416/7 Facsimile: +233 (0) 312028410 Email: pwc.ghana@gh. Website: gh

Sierra Leone office No. 2 MIK Drive Off Barrack Road, Murray Town, Freetown Sierra Leone

Telephone: +233 (0) 78361701 Email: pwc.ghana@gh. Facsimile: +233 (0) 30 2761544

Contents

Ghana at a glance

5

Republic of Ghana

5

Tourism and places of interest

5

Population and people

5

Education

6

Economy

6

The Government Sector

8

The National Digital Property Addressing System (NDPAS), National

Identification Project (NIP) and Interoperable Electronic Platform (IEP) 8

Government of Ghana Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication

Project (IPEP)

9

Paperless port project

9

Ghana/Cote d'Ivoire maritime dispute: The International

Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) win

9

The economy of Ghana

11

Investing In Ghana

15

Setting up a business in Ghana

15

Tax identification number (TIN)

15

Types of companies

15

Statutory/regulatory registration

16

Operating a foreign account

17

Repatriation of funds

17

Immigration

18

Economic Sectors

21

Financial services (banks and other financial institutions)

21

Mining services

23

The capital market

26

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

29

Agriculture and agribusiness

31

Upstream oil and gas

34

Downstream oil and gas

35

Oil refinery in Ghana

36

Electricity

36

Services

38

Key chambers of commerce and trade associations

39

Key unions

41

The Ghanaian tax regime

43

Value Added Tax (VAT) and National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL)

43

Communications service tax (CST)

45

Customs and excise duties

45

Special petroleum tax

47

Income tax

47

Withholding taxes

51

Anti-avoidance schemes

54

Administrative procedures

54

Tax Identification Number (TIN)

54

Tax clearance certificates (TCC)

55

Accounting Issues

57

Financial reporting standards

57

Developments in accounting standards

57

Firm information

69

Our profile

69

Audit and assurance

69

Tax & tax advisory services

70

Company secretarial services

71

Advisory services

71

Our partners and directors

73

References

77

Glossary

81

Ghana at a glance

Republic of Ghana

Capital city: Accra

Location: West Africa Longitude: 7.9465 degrees N Latitude: 1.0232 degrees W Population: 28.9 million

Official language: English

Currency: Ghana Cedi (GH?)

Time zone: GMT

Climate: Tropical

Average temperature: 26?C (about 79?F)

Independence: 6 March 1957

Government: Democracy

Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Approximately US$44 billion (as at September 2017)

Inflation rate: 11.8% (December 2017)

Tourism and places of interest

Ghana is a favourite tourist destination in West Africa. There are many tourist sites and attractions across the country, notably:

? Kakum National Park ? Elmina Castle ? Cape Coast Castle and Fort William ? Mole National Park ? Paga Crocodile Pond ? Nzulezu Stilt Village

? Lake Bosomtwi

? Aburi Botanical Gardens; and

? Wli Waterfalls.

Population and people

Ghana's current population is estimated at about 28.9 million (27.7 million in 2016), with females forming 49.1% of the total population. According to the United Nations Statistics Division, the population density was 119 persons per square kilometre as of November 2017. The greatest concentration of people is in the Greater Accra Region. The country's population grew by 2.39% in 2016 and is expected to reach approximately 29 million by the beginning of 2018.

Ghana has a youthful population, with some 60% of the population falling between the ages of 15 and 64 years. The age dependency ratio is 66.7%, implying that the dependent section of the population is more than half of the working population.

The average life expectancy at birth in Ghana is 61 years (59.8 years for males and 62.3 years for females). This is below the average life expectancy of the global population, which stands at 71 years.

Ghana is blessed with a rich diversity of ethnic groups, each with its own unique culture and way of life. The official language and mode of communication is English, which is taught in all schools. The major ethnic groups in Ghana include the Akans (the Akyem, Ashanti, Kwahu, Akuapem, Bono and others), who form about 47.5% of the country's total population. Other ethnic groups are the Ga-Dangme (7.4%), Ewes (13.9%), Mole-Dagbani (16.6%), Guan (3.7%), Gurma (5.7%), Grusi (2.5%),

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Mande (1.1%) and others (1.4%). Ghanaians are known to be very hospitable people, and this trait spans across all the ethnics groups. They are very religious, as the following distribution depicts: Christianity accounts for 71.2% (Catholic ? 13.1%, Protestant ? 18.4%, Pentecostal/ Charismatic ? 28.3%, others ? 11.4%), Islamic worship for 17.6%, traditional worship for 5.2%, other religions for 0.8% and no religion for 5.2%.

Education

The school-going age in Ghana is from 3-21 years old. The educational structure of Ghana comprises:

? Pre-school (ages 3-5);

? Basic/Primary school (equivalent to elementary school) (ages 6-11);

? Junior high school (equivalent to middle school) (ages 12-14);

? Senior high school (equivalent to high school) (ages 15-17); and

? Tertiary education/Institution equivalent to college/university (ages 18-21).

In Ghana, the tertiary educational institutions comprise the polytechnics and universities, colleges of education institutions and nursing training colleges.

The Ministry of Education has oversight responsibility over educational issues in the country. The Ministry oversees various councils and bodies that are responsible for co-ordinating and implementing national policies on education. These bodies include:

Ghana Education Service

? It is responsible for pre-tertiary education.

National Council for Tertiary Education

? This is the Council that oversees the administration of tertiary institutions of education in Ghana. It serves as the supervisory and regulatory body that advises government through the Minister of Education on policies relating to tertiary education.

National Board for Professional and Technician Examinations

? It has oversight responsibility over professional and technical institutions that are not universities.

Economy

The services sector is the largest contributor to Ghana's GDP (62% as of the end of the second quarter of 2017). The industrial sector is the next largest sector of the economy (26.5% as at the end of the second quarter of 2017), followed by the agricultural sector with a 11.5% contribution to GDP at the end of the 2017 second quarter.

With about 778, 044 metric tonnes of cocoa beans having been produced in the 2015/2016 crop year, Ghana is the second-largest producer of cocoa in the world after C?te d'Ivoire.

Ghana is currently a net importer of petroleum products. However, expected production of oil and gas from the Tweneboa, Enyenera, and Ntomme (TEN) and Sankofa oilfields will increase output in 2018 and improve the balance of trade position.

6 Doing Business and Investing in Ghana

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