Finance Students & Associates-FINSA (UGBS)♨
                🇬🇭18th March, 2019
                ⏰6:00pm

BUSINESS SPACE📈
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📡GRA misses Tax Amnesty Policy target of GHS500 million

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) missed its 2018 Tax Amnesty Policy target of GHS500 million. The GRA was able to recoup GHS287 million cedis from the  Policy which ended in September 2018. The Authority projected to recoup between GHS300 million and GHS500 million from the policy it introduced to encourage the taxable citizens who had not paid taxes or under declared their income, to voluntarily pay.

📡Govt delegation led by Finance Minister begins Eurobond roadshow

A government delegation comprising a team from the Ministry of Finance and officials from the Bank of Ghana (BoG) will today begin a Eurobond road show. Government is planning to raise three billion dollars through the bond to cater for infrastructure development in the 2019 budget as well as retire some maturing debt. The Minister of Finance Ken Ofori Atta is also hopeful the issue of the Eurobond and the Cocoa syndicated loan will help stabilize the cedi from further depreciating.

📡Telcos asked to stop sale of sim cards on the streets

Telecommunication service providers in the country have been asked to consider stopping the sale of SIM cards on the streets. This is because the practice has given itself to abuse by fraudsters who patronise the cards to obtain false identifications, in order to perpetuate their criminal activities. The call was made by Consumer Advocacy Center, the Ghanaian member of Consumer International, at a round-table discussion held in Accra on Friday to mark the 2019 World Consumer Rights Day.

📡Cedi depreciation must be halted to save industries–AGI

The Association of the Ghana Industries(AGI) has urged government to put in measures that will stabilize the cedi against the dollar. This follows a recent announcement by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, that the free fall of the cedi against the dollar, will be curtailed in the coming weeks. As it stands, the cedi has depreciated against the dollar from GHC 4.9 to around GHC 5.50 since the beginning of the year year sparking concern in the business community.

|Policy Rate in Ghana - 16.0%|

|Inflation Rate in Ghana - 9.20%|

|Treasury bills rates|
Period        Discount Rates       Interest Rates
91 - Day           14.1929%                  14.7150%
182 - Day   14.0833%                  15.1501%
364 - Day                                             18.1898%

Foreign News💤
⚖Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank go public on merger talks

Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank confirmed on Sunday they were in talks about a merger, prompting labor union concerns about possible job losses and questions from analysts about the merits of a combination. Germany's two largest banks issued short statements following separate meetings of their management boards, indicating a quickening of pace in the merger process, although both also warned that a deal was far from certain.

⚖South African Agribusiness Confidence Advances From 2009 Low record

Confidence in South Africa’s agricultural industry improved from the worst reading since 2009 in the first quarter but lingered at levels that indicate producers are still downbeat about business conditions. The Agbiz/IDC Agribusiness Confidence Index rose to 46 in the first three months of the year compared with 42 in the prior quarter, the Pretoria-based Agricultural Business Chamber said.

⚖OPEC cancels April meeting, leaving price-boosting oil output cuts in place through June

OPEC and other major oil producers on Monday canceled a meeting planned for April, leaving the alliance's price-boosting production cuts in place until at least June. The group is delaying its decision because it expects the oil market to remain oversupplied through the first half of the year, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said at a committee meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan. The delay also allows the producers to assess how U.S. sanctions on OPEC-members Iran and Venezuela will affect the oil market in the coming months, several news agencies reported.

|Daily Interbank FX Rates|
Currency               Pairs Code   Buying    Selling
U.S Dollar                USDGHS 5.2374    5.2426
Pound Sterling         GBPGHS 6.9521    6.9611
Swiss Franc           CHFGHS    5.2264    5.2312
Canadian Dollar      CADGHS 3.9244    3.9284
Euro                          EURGHS 5.9374    5.9421
Chinese Reminbi     CNYGHS 0.7803    0.7811

🌀|Sources|
www.citibusinessnews.com
www.bog.gov.gh
www.myjoyonline.com
www.bloomberg.com
www.cnbc.com 
www.wikipedia.com
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Term of the day📚
🤔 Tax amnesty
Tax amnesty is a limited-time opportunity for a specified group of taxpayers to pay a defined amount, in exchange for forgiveness of a tax liability (including interest and penalties) relating to a previous tax period or periods and without fear of criminal prosecution. It typically expires when some authority begins a tax investigation of the past-due tax. In some cases, legislation extending amnesty also imposes harsher penalties on those who are eligible for amnesty but do not take it.

🤔What are some of the advantages of tax amnesty?
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📍Compiled & edited by:     
Philip Elike Gagah
Agnes Boatemaa Appiadu