Opinions of Sunday, 3 April 2016
Columnist: Quaye, Stephen A.
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New World Wealth, an international body has released a chart of countries which saw their biggest out-flow of their wealthy men migrating to other countries.
According to the body, Australia topped the chart as it saw many as 8,000 super rich people migrating into that country followed by United States of America [U.S.A] 7,000 and Canada 5,000 in the second and third place respectively.
Millionaires, otherwise known as “high net-worth individuals” or HNWIs” refer to individuals with net assets of 1 million dollars or more excluding their primary residence.
How many foreign millionaires came to Ghana in 2015 or how many of these foreign nationals came to invest in Ghana?
Let us begin to find out.
HOW MANY MILLIONAIRS CHOSE GHANA FOR BUSINESS IN 2015? QUAYE [1]
By: Stephen A.Quaye, Toronto-Canada.
One of the main reasons given to Ghanaians by President John Dramani Mahama, for traveling abroad is to woe foreign investors to come and establish business in the country to create jobs for the local people, to put money in their pockets.
Accepted. But can he tell the ordinary Ghanaian how many foreign investors he was able to woe into the country ever since he started traveling to foreign countries on those business trips?
This is because a latest report released by New World Wealth[NWW] has revealed that more foreign countries saw their biggest out-flow of their millionaire’s nationals to other countries.
The report further disclosed that in terms of millionaire inflows, Australia topped the chart with 8,000 millionaires followed by United States of America U.S.A, 7,000 AND Canada in the third place with 5,000 millionaires migrating in their countries respectively.
Millionaires, otherwise known as “high net-worth individuals” or “HNWIs” refers to individuals with assets of 1 million or more excluding their primary residence.
The report said, India saw the fourth –biggest out-flow of high net worth individuals globally in 2015 that recorded migration of its four thousand millionaire citizens overseas.
But France saw the maximum outflow of millionaires with as many as ten thousand super rich citizens who left the country to elsewhere last year.
As to whether the migration of these super rich from China and India was a concern, the report said, it was not concerning as these countries are still producing far more new millionaires than they are losing, adding that once the standard of living in those countries improves the wealthy people will return.
According to the report, in terms of countries ranked by millionaires outflow, France was followed by China in second place with 9,000 millionaires leaving the country while Italy, a third position, figure stood at 6,000.
Citing reasons for the major out-flow, the report noted that rising religious tensions between Christians and Muslims, especially in urban areas is heavily impacting on France.
Not leaving other European countries where religious tensions are starting to emerge such as Belgium, Germany, Sweden and United Kingdom which will also be negatively affected soon it further noted.
It said,” We expect millionaire migration away from France will accelerate over the next decade as these tensions escalate”.
The report went on to say that other countries that saw significant millionaire outflows included Greece with 3,000, and Russia and Brazil recording 2,000 millionaires out-flows each.
HOW MANY MILLIONAIRES CHOSE GHANA FOR BUSINESS IN 2015? QUAYE 2.
Therefore with these statistics provided by NWW against the notion or impression always created by President Mahama that he was traveling overseas for investors, it behooves ordinary Ghanaian to ask him where the investors are.
With the economy collapsing, the cedi turning into a paper, businesses closing down, workers being laid off, salaries running into arrears unemployment sky rocketing industrialization almost a history where are the investors to revive the economy?
Ghanaians need to know.