Ghana has been ranked as an underperforming economy among four nations in sub-Saharan Africa including South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.

According to a survey undertaken by Senior Lecturer at the Economics Department of the University of Ghana, Dr Priscilla Twumasi Baffour, Ghana performed below expectations in all the indicators.

For instance, the country’s interest rate is currently on the rise, whilst its debt to Gross Domestic Product is also a major concern.

Speaking at the Axis Pension Strategy Conference, Dr Baffour highlighted the Treasury bill rates, inflation, the performance of the local currency and the adverse credit ratings as some drivers of high-interest rates in the country.

“Why are interest rates high? The question is, are they even high at all? Comparing Ghana to Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, Ghana’s interest rate is way too high. We’re doing more than double of what is happening elsewhere.”

“When we look at South Africa’s interest rate, it is pegged at 7.3%. Nigeria is also doing great but when you look for options for investments, you will find that Nigeria is not doing great compared to Ghana. My emphasis will then be on Kenya and South Africa because we’re looking at best practices to set standards,” she said.

“Treasury bill rates in Ghana are higher than other African countries, although it has trended downwards recently. It is more attractive to lend to government than the private sector. This explains lack of diversification in Private Pensions assets”.

Another survey conducted by Axis Pension Trust showed that 72% of participants believe that the equity market will maintain momentum in 2022.

Presenting the findings, Investment Strategist, Karl Ocran explained that the valuation levels are cheap to cause an increase in liquidity.

“There was an interesting outcome on the equity market. Majority of participants believe that the equity market will maintain momentum in 2022 that is 72% of them believe that.”

“What we think will drive the equity market is that valuation levels are cheap. From the financial market perspective, if you look at where the market is trading, there are so many opportunities to earn some healthy returns as well as new guidelines that allow pension funds to allocate to the equity market which drives liquidity,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Chief Investments Officer at Axis Pension Trust, Nana Wiafe Boamah has outlined some sectors trustees can maximise values for contributions.

“Most pension funds have invested about 90% of their assets in government or quasi-government securities. We feel that we really want to grow our economy and create the needed jobs, we must start allocating to the real sector”.

“Tourism is an opportunity we can explore. There’s healthcare, real estate, agribusiness, among others”, he pointed out.