Merchant bank poised to support indigenous businesses

Published in the Daily Graphic on 29/01/10, (spread) middle pg.

Story: Matilda Attram
The Managing Director of Merchant Bank Ghana Limited, Mr Peter Iliasu, has stated that the bank has now been positioned to support the growth and development of indigenous Ghanaian businesses to ensure accelerated national development.
He said the support would be in the form of credit and the provision of business advice, among others.
Mr Iliasu made this remark when he led some executives of the bank to pay a visit to the head office of Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) in Accra yesterday.
The visit was to revitalise and strengthen the relationship between the two companies.
Mr Iliasu stated that it was the belief and vision of the bank that it was only when small, medium and large-scale indigenous Ghanaian businesses expanded, that they would be able to create employment opportunities to help minimise the unemployment rate in the country.
He said the bank was the biggest local bank in the country and was determined to spread its tentacles across the entire African continent.
“We want to consolidate our efforts with our strong team into a big and better banking institution that will improve on the productivity of our local companies,” Mr Illiasu stressed.
He, therefore, expressed the company’s gratitude to the GCGL as partners, adding that “a collective work would help improve our economy”.
The Managing Director of GCGL, Mr Ibrahim Awal, stated in his remarks that the company was ready to link up businesses to influence policies that would help improve the economy.
He said it was to this end that GCGL shared in the vision of the bank and was, therefore, ready to partner the bank for the attainment of its corporate objective on a win-win basis.
He also disclosed that GCGL had attained 60 this year and was planning activities towards its celebration.
He, therefore, welcomed the assurance by the MD of Merchant Bank that it would collaborate with the GCGL in the organisation of this year’s Graphic Business Round Table Conference, as well as a joint health screening exercise.