GSE working to get more companies listed

The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) is working feverishly to get more companies to list on the stock market, the Managing Director (MD)  of the GSE, Ekow Afedzie has said.

He said the objective of the management and council of the GSE was to make the Accra bourse the preferred market of raising capital for companies to finance their business operations.

Mr Afedzie stated this in Accra on Wednesday when Dannex Ayrton Starwin (DAS) Plc listed on the GSE after their merger.

He said companies listed on the exchange had increased to 40 from 11 when the market was created about two decades ago.

Mr Afedzie disclosed that the market capitalisation of the GSE had risen to GH₵56 billion from GH₵3 billion within a space of 20 years.

“Going forward, our objective is to transform the GSE from a frontier to an emerging market and be the preferred medium of raising capital and provide avenue for investment in the country,” he said.

The MD of the GSE said so far his outfit had developed three markets, being the Equity Market, Ghana Alternative Market for Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises and the Ghana Fixed Income Market for the trading of government and corporate bonds.

He indicated that 624 million shares were traded on the Equity Market last year.

Mr Afedzie said there were 80 government securities listed on  the bond market worth more than  GH₵80 billion.

He noted that the value of corporate bonds traded on the Ghana Fixed Income Market last year stood at GH₵c7 billion.

Total market capitalisation of the Ghana Fixed Income Market last year Mr Afedzie said was GH₵c90 billion, almost twice the size of the Equity Market.

He stated that more than 55 bonds were traded on the bond market last year.

Mr Afedzie said the intention was to develop the equity market to become as big as the Ghana Fixed Income Market.

By Kingsley Asare