A delegation from the Shandong Province of China has arrived in Accra for a three-day nationwide tour to explore investment opportunities in Ghana.
The delegation, made up of many group of Shandong Companies in the industries of rubber, tyres, textiles, construction materials and baby products, also included high ranking officials of the Economic and Trade Mission of Shandong Province.
Welcoming the delegates at their first seminar dubbed ‘the China (Shandong)-Ghana Economic hosted and Trade Match-making Meeting’, which hosted businesses in Ghana, the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Shi Ting Wang, said the visit was meant to enhance China’s interest in doing business in Ghana and China’s contribution to the China-Ghana economic and trade cooperation.
He said Shandong and Ghana had maintained good friendship and close cooperation since the First Lady of Ghana visited Shandong in 2017 and opened the first Ghana Trade and Investment Office in the Province.
Mr Wang said the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, also visited Shandong last year during his State visit to China, while Ren Airong, the Vice Governor of Shandong Province, in reciprocal move, also visited Ghana and held productive talks with many of the ministries, the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council, as well as the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre.
He said the Province had always treated Africa as an important trading partner and incremental market. Since last year, trade volume between the Province and African countries grew by 23.6 per cent.
Mr Wang said investment from the Province was getting more dynamic and sizable in Ghana, with projects such as Motor King Assembly Plant, a package factory and a paper mill in Tema by the Huasheng Jiangquan Group, an agricultural project by Shandong Weiyang, and Sino Truck, which intends to establish an Assembly plant.
“Shandong companies also take an active part in the infrastructure construction in Ghana, with the construction of office buildings of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defence, which are landmarks of Accra,” he said.
Mr Wang said the total foreign trade volume of Shandong Province stood at 288.54 billion US dollars up by 7.7 per cent, adding that now Shandong was trying to shift from old growth drivers to new ones, which offered Ghana a great opportunity to expand its cooperation with Shandong and attract more investment from the Province.
Mr Liu Xiaojing, Vice Chairman of the China Council for Promotion of International Trade Shandong Sub-Council (CCPIT), said the province’s foreign economic and trade promotion had established cooperative relations with more than 120 overseas chambers of Commerce and Business association.
He said located between Beijing and Shanghai, Shandong was a large coastal province in Eastern China, with major economic outputs and culture being the birthplace of Confucius and Confucianism, adding that the province could boast of rich natural resources, strong agricultural foundation, complete industrial categories and a developed infrastructure.
Ms Zhang Hong Leng, Expert Manager of Shandong Wanda Boto tyre Company Limited, a subsidiary of China Wanda Group, said the tyre manufacturing company was among China’s top 500 industrial enterprises with an intent to expand their radial truck tyres to Ghana.
