GSE calls for deliberate government policy on listing of key companies

Accra, Sept 5, GNA - The Ghana Stock Exchange is asking policy makers to make deliberate effort to ensure that companies in the mining, banking, telecommunication and oil and gas sectors float some percentage of their holdings on the local bourse to boost market activities.

Mr Frank Adu Junior, Chairman of the Council of the Ghana Stock Ex-change (GSE), called for continuous advocacy to get policy makers to compel companies operating in the mining, oil and gas, telecommunication, banking, insurance and cocoa buying and processing to list 25 per cent of their entities on the Exchange.

"This way, the supply side of the market will see a marked improvement to offer greater variety of safe and reasonable returns to investors, including funds under the second and third tier pension scheme," he said.

On the financial performance of the Exchange, he said 2010 was a difficult period for the exchange financially mainly because the recovery of the market was slow.

He said though trading volumes picked up, it fell short of the record levels reached in 2008 just before the financial crisis began.

Mr. Adu said whilst there were no new company listings, there were several additional listings during the year.

"On account of that and cost containment, the group, made up of the Exchange and its wholly-owned subsidiary, the GSE Securities Depository, turned round the deficit of the crisis year of 2009, to record a very modest surplus after tax of GH¢ 87,734.

On market performance, Mr. Adu said the GSE All-Share Index went up 32.25 per cent from 5,572.34 in 2009 to 7,369.21 at the end of December 2010 compared to the decline of 46.58 per cent recorded in 2009.

During the year 2010, Mr. Adu said the Council approved a three-year strategic plan for 2011 to 2013 to enable the Exchange to have a greater focus on commercialisation as part moves towards demutualisation.

"As part of the strategic plan for the commercialisation focus, the Exchange wants to adopt new company regulations and to change the Council from a 13-member to a nine member Council," he said.

Members of the Exchange voted for new company regulations to replace the old regulations.