Browsing by Author "Mensah, Boakye"

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    The impact of merger and acquisition on selected companies trading in the Ghana Stock Exchange
    (2008-08-10) Mensah, Boakye
    The study was carried out to find out the impact of merger and acquisition (A&A) on selected companies trading the Ghana Stock Exchange using quantitative and qualitative methods. The objectives of the study were:   1. To discuss the motivations behind mergers and acquisitions in Ghana. 2. To analyse the influence of mergers and acquisition on share prices. 3. To analyse the influence of mergers and acquisition on dividend payment. 4. To analyse the influence of mergers and acquisition on efficiency. 5. To make appropriate recommendations on the Mergers and Acquisitions in Ghana. The study revealed that there are varied motives for merger and acquisitions in Ghana. Among the common motives were identified as competitive business advantage, managerial # prestige and interest, diversification of business and expansion, reaping the gains of undervalued business and influence of professionals and experts. Again, it became obvious that the merger and acquisition per se do not necessarily ensure efficiency of business since share prices, dividend payment and return on asset ratio could be positive or negative depending oh how the business is managed. There are also challenges of management resistance to change as a result of the M and A, undervaluation and low assessment of acquired businesses to the advantage of the acquiring companies and short-run diminishing returns after the merger and acquisition. Companies considering merger and acquisition require possessing deep financial resources to be able to sustain the business during the M and A period. Management of M & A should also try to tie their personal objectives with that of their companies for a successful merger and acquisition. Again, focusing on strong core business after the M and A would help maximise good will and performances indicators. Relying on experience managers for the M and A transactions whiles avoiding merger of equals, integration of the target business within the acquirer's company, replace of managers for the new companies and mutual engagement and benefits of professional services for both the acquiring and acquired companies may greatly ensure successful merger and acquisition.
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    Trade Liberalisation and Small Scale Industries in Ghana
    (1998) Mensah, Boakye
    Development economists have, for long, disagreed on trade strategies that have enabled countries to attain higher growth and develop their industrial potential. Arguments concerning an appropriate trade strategy are based on inward looking (import substitution and outward looking (export promotion) orientations. Ghana, after attaining independence embarked on large scale import substitution industrialisation which was seen as a hope for achieving rapid economic development. In order to allow the infant industries enough time to grow, protective barriers like tariffs, import and export controls were used. These protective measures however led to inefficiencies and limited growth of the local industries. In 1983, the government of Ghana embarked on economic recovery programme (ERP) to resuscitate the ailing Ghanaian economy. One of the underlying principles of the recovery programme was the introduction of trade liberalisation (free market system) which aims, among others, at assisting the entire industrial sector to be vibrant and internationally competitive. The freer economy has led to inflow of all forms of goods leading to severe competition. The contribution of small-scale industries (SSIs) to the national economy is potentially very large. They contribute more to G.D.P. than their larger counterpart. Employment generation for instance stood at 364,000 for SSIs in 1978 as against 64,000 for large scale firms. SSIs also accounted for 25 percent of Ghana’s value added manufacturing in the same year. Inspite of the contribution of SSIs in employment generation and contribution to manufacturing, a number of constraints were identified as limiting their growth potential prior to the ERP. Among the constraints were lack of access to inputs, spare parts, and credit and limited market. This study assesses the performance of SSIs under the free market system to find out the extent to which the new trade policy has contributed to SSIs in terms of employment generation, output growth and marketing of products. The study was limited to small scale manufacturing firms in Ghana with reference to Kumasi and Takoradi within the time frame of 1975-1997. Revelations from the analysis showed improvement in output and employment but contraction in demand for products. Other problems revealed by the study included high input costs and inadequate access to credit. In the aggregate, this study revealed that trade liberalisation in the country is, on a balance, favourable to the needs and activities, growth and development of SSIs. Inspite of the favourable response, some form of “infant sector” protection for these firms is still necessary to ensure their sustainability.