The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has hinted it may later consider introducing Islamic Banking in Ghana if the prospects are positive.
Industry players have argued that Islamic Banking has the potential of solving the high interest rates challenges for the private sector.
The Acting Governor of the BoG, Dr. Henry Wampah at last week’s Monetary Policy Committee press conference stated that it may consider that banking concept soon.
He said: “I don’t know the effects whether it will reduce the interest rates or not because I know that although they do not charge interest, there are charges but they do not call it interests. That is what I understand and it’s possible that they may be lower if we bring it in but it’s difficult to know. ”
“There may be other structures involved maybe it’s time that our department takes a look at it because we don’t know when an Islamic bank may want to come into Ghana so we may have to do a little bit more work on that,” he added.
As this on-going shift by key African countries from being aid-dependant gathers further momentum, Islamic finance is set to play a key role in facilitating more trade and investment flows between Africa and the Middle East.
Increased interest from Gulf investors in terms of agricultural land acquisitions and the high-growth prospects for Sukuk, project and trade finance across the manufacturing and minerals sectors is expected to further fuel the growth of the African opportunity for Islamic finance significantly.
Source: Africa Business Communities
