Ghana

Shopping malls look set to become a key part of Ghana’s landscape as retailers and developers move to meet rising demand, which is being triggered largely by an emerging middle class.

As one of Ghana’s main sources of export revenue and employment, cocoa is of critical importance to the economy. Production is expected to be relatively stable for the 2013/14 season, while rising prices worldwide should lead to revenue growth.

Investment in Ghana’s hydrocarbons sector has boomed over the past six years, with capital inflows helping stoke headline growth in the double digits. The performance of oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) activity has been robust, but passage of new legislation to regulate the E&P segment is likely to provide an additional boost to the industry and create a clearer and more sustainable environment for upstream producers.

Rice production in Ghana has come under scrutiny in recent years, as the government works to reduce its agricultural imports by boosting domestic production. A number of state-led initiatives are aimed at improving output, while the private sector is playing an increasingly important role.

In late July Ghana held an international bond sale, raising dollar-denominated funds for the second time since 2007, when it became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to do so. The yield the second time around was higher than some recent issues for peer countries in Africa, but the sale was oversubscribed and Ghanaian officials consider that an encouraging signal.

Although the country has a comparatively robust standard of health care, the Ghanaian government has received growing calls to raise sector spending and reform the medical system. Access has improved in recent years, but non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are pushing for more public resources to help Ghana achieve its health goals.