GH¢85 billion worth of bonds traded in 2020 – GSE MD

Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) Mr Ekow Afedzie has revealed that GH¢85 billion worth of bonds has been traded this year.

Comparing what transpired in the year 2015 which he said recorded GH¢5 billion, this year, has seen dramatic high figures.

Speaking during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Accra on Wednesday, November 11, Mr Afedzie noted that a lot of investors are now venturing into bond trading.

“GHS5bn worth of bonds traded in 2015 all the way to ¢85 billion as we speak at the end of October this year,” he said.

He added, “Once you have the equity market down you find people shifting attention to the bond market because of the risk-free asset that you are putting your money into.”

Regarding the MoU signed with the London Stock Exchange in February this year, Mr Afedzie expressed optimism that the agreement will grow Ghana’s stock market.

“Next year in 2021, we are going to have shareholders. The questions will be the panacea for all our problems? Will bring along more listed companies? Will it improve liquidity?

The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) signed an MoU with the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) to strengthen their common interest in collaborating to support the development of the capital market in Ghana.

As part of this MoU, LSEG will assist the GSE to take steps to move from a frontier market to an emerging market, support cross-listing between the LSE and GSE and raise awareness of capital raising opportunities.

The two institutions will establish a centralised corporate news dissemination platform in Ghana to promote efficient disclosure practices and price formation and also to support future public market fundraising for the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF).

A statement from the Ghana Stock Exchange said both institutions had the desire to assist Ghanaian businesses to raise capital and support business growth both domestically and internationally.

As part of the MoU, the GSE and the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) would sign a commercial contract with the LSEG Academy to provide a series of capacity building programmes to support product development and market diversity in Ghana.

These capacity-building programmes are designed to support aspects of Ghana’s Capital Market Plan, which focused on building key competencies to develop a green, social and sustainable bond market.