Government to put GIHOC Distilleries on the Ghana Stock Exchange

Government will soon list part of its shares in the GIHOC Distilleries Company Limited on the Ghana Stock Exchange, Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Trade said on Monday. He said government was also looking for private partners to buy shares in the company as well as other sources to support its expansion to produce alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks for domestic consumption and for export. Mr Iddrisu, who was on a familiarisation tour of the company, said government would support the company to improve on its drainage systems to secure it from rainstorms and disasters. He said government would create an enabling environment for the active participation of private partners in all sectors of the economy to create employment and enhance growth. Mr Iddrisu said it was the vision of President John Dramani Mahama to see all sectors of the economy in a vibrant state and making progress and would not relent in its efforts to facilitate the process for the growth of businesses in Ghana. Mrs Kay Kwao-Simmonds, Managing Director of the Company, said the company was prepared to work with government adding that more capital was needed to enable it to expand its operations and also defray debts. She said the intension of the company to expand its operations to other countries in the West Africa Sub-region was due to the huge market available and hence the need to maximise profits. She said as part of its modernisation efforts, the company had brought in new equipment and machinery to augment its old stock to improve capacity and quality of its products for effective competition. Mrs Kwao-Simmonds, who conducted the Mr Iddrisu round some of the company�s units, said a new equipment such as the Bottle Washing Machines with a capacity of washing 30,000 bottles an hour had been installed to augment the work in the company. She said work was also ongoing on the drains among other interventions to pave way for the quick flow of rain water and industrial water to secure the company from disasters and ensure clean environment for efficient work delivery.