TAG: Africa
The year 2018 was trying for the Ghanaian economy, with plans to schedule an exit from an IMF credit deal by year-end, ongoing fiscal and monetary reforms, and an historic consolidation agenda for the banking sector. Despite the scope of adjustments, sentiment among the business community has remained robust, with 93% of respondents having positive or very positive expectations of local business conditions for the coming 12 months. Gradual recovery of GDP has since seen the economy grow again, expanding by 8.4% in 2017, according to the IMF’s October 2018 “World Economic Outlook” report, on the back of enhanced output and exports.
With the import ban launched in 2016 having coincided with a drop in oil and gas prices, in early 2018 Algeria started to rethink it, with a view to improving the country’s finances and easing a challenging tax situation. In June the Parliament duly approved a measure replacing the ban on certain
products with Customs duties.
While the 2014-17 period saw the effectiveness of the import ban called into question and was marked by a significant drop in oil receipts, recovering commodity prices in 2018 appear to be bolstering both local business sentiment and economic growth prospects. The results of the second OBG Business Barometer: Algeria CEO Survey, gathered through face-to-face interviews with 90 of the country’s top executives, show that the general outlook is optimistic, with 73% expressing positive or very positive expectations of local business conditions in the coming 12 months, up from 61% in the November 2017 edition of the survey.