Economy's Growth Has Been Rapid - Dosoo

The Deputy Governor of Bank of Ghana Mr Van Lare Dosoo has said there has been a fundamental change in the Ghanaian economy due to the rapid move of the economy from a high inflation onto a path of disinflation and macroeconomic stability, with reduced fiscal deficits and net government repayment of debts.

He said this at a day's workshop on the sensitisation of Central Security Depository (CSD) which the Bank of Ghana intends to implement by the end of 2004.

He said with the CSD, records of ownership of individual securities would be maintained to reduce the possibility of harm to investors as a result of poor record-keeping.

He said the new system would be extended to include other fixed-income security as well as equity security listed on the Ghana stock exchange.

The system, he said, would not only improve on security and investors' confidence, but would also make it easier for investors to move securities from one dealer to the other.

He said the Bank of Ghana and the Ministry of Finance would issue four new securities to stratify the demands of investors who will invest their money in Treasury Bills and those who would prefer to invest for longer terms.

Mr Dosoo said the new securities would allow the government to lengthen the average maturity of its debt and reduce the frequency which it has to refinance maturing securities.

The Bank of Ghana would issue its own bills which would have maturity days of 28 and 56 and would be sold weekly to banks, he said; with the issuance of the bill, he continued, it would be easier for investors to distinguish between the borrowing done at each weekly auction to finance the government from the borrowing that is done in connection with the bank's open market operations.