He particularly encouraged Chinese investors to make use of the various free trade agreements signed by Ghana with other African countries to enter into the ECOWAS region.

Speaking at the Ghana Investment Conference at Changsha in China, Mr Ahenkorah said the government was ready to facilitate and partner with Chinese investors to establish sector-specific industrial parks and other businesses that would bring further growth to the two countries.

He mentioned the petrochemical, integrated aluminium, industrial salt and pharmaceutical industries as some of the sectors where the country would welcome Chiness investors.

The minister is in China with a Ghanaian delegation to participate in the first China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE).

The three-day event seeks to create the platform for African businesses to exhibit their products on Chinese markets.

The event is taking place at Hunan International Convention and Exhibition Centre in the Hunan Province.

Favourable

Mr Ahenkorah told the Chinese investors that Ghana's investment protection and promotion instruments and regimes "are favourable to investors across the globe who wish to invest in the country.”

He added that the country had embarked on some reforms to improve the investment climate for both local and international investors.

"Even though our impressive credentials can help us attract trade and investment into Ghana, our government is currently pursuing innovative reforms and programmes to further improve the ease of doing business in the country," Mr Ahenkorah said.

To that end, he stated that the government was implementing a three-year comprehensive business regulatory reforms strategy to make the country the most business-friendly in Africa.

"The reforms are aimed at improving the time, procedure and cost of doing business in the country by removing bottlenecks in the business environment," Mr Ahenkorah reiterated.

China's support

The minister applauded the Chinese government for its support for the One district, One factory (IDIF) initiative, indicating that China's National Building Materials Corporation (CNBM) was supporting 22 enterprises with a US$400-million loan facility.

"I am happy to state that eight factories under the CNBM facility are ready to commence production before the end of this year," he said.

On trade volumes, Mr Ahenkorah said available records had revealed that trade volumes between the two countries had surged from less than US$100 million in 2000 to US$7.25 billion in 2018.

He said Ghana's exports to China had reached US$ 2.44 billion and added that the country imported US$4.81 billion worth of goods from China between 2000 and 2018.