GSE commences Over-the-Counter trading of securities
The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) has launched the GSE Over-the- Counter (OTC) market to help in the trading of securities (shares) not listed on the Stock Exchange.
The GSE Over-the-Counter (OTC) Market will serve as a platform for companies and organisations, particularly Rural and Community Banks (RCBs), to buy and sell their shares.
Speaking at the launch of OTC in Accra on Friday, the Managing Director of GSE, Ms Abena Amoah, said the new product was part of a broader strategy outlined by the Securities and Exchange Commission, through its 10-year capital market master plan, to offer more and diverse investment opportunities and enhance liquidity and securities on the Ghanaian capital market.
She stated that the product represented a major achievement for the GSE and the Ghanaian capital market as a whole, being the inaugural regulated platform for trading in public securities not listed on the stock exchange.
“We want to provide a structured, transparent and efficient platform for trading of these securities because it will afford unlisted public companies visibility, trading opportunities, transparency and ease for their investors to transact, buy more or sell these securities,” she stated.
Ms Amoah said the introduction of the GSE OTC market was a testament to the commitment of GSE to innovation, efficiency and providing unparalleled opportunities for raising capital and for investments.
The OTC market, according to her, would make it easier to access capital and stimulate economic growth, as well as provide support for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that may not meet the listing requirements of the main exchanges and, as a result, become inconsequential to Ghana’s economic development.
The Managing Director of the ARB Apex Bank, Mr Alex Kwasi Awuah, who was the guest speaker, said the OTC market provided a platform for the trading of unlisted securities, with fewer regulatory requirements than traditional markets.
He said the launch of the product marked the opening for all active members of ARB Apex Bank to engage more deeply in participating on the OTC trading floor at the GSE.
Mr Awuah said the product would help RCBs to raise short, medium, and long-term funding to enhance their overall solvency and support the expansion of their operations.
Mr Awuah said RCBs were conscious of the Regulatory and Legal challenges they had to go through if they wanted to be listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), saying, “This will offer all active members of the 147 RCB fraternity the opportunity to undertake real time OTC trading in their shares.”
He said the OTC would not only provide increased liquidity for RCBs, but also help to improve their governance systems.
The Deputy Managing Director of SEC in charge of Legal, Mrs Mawusi Agyemfrah, commended GSE for introducing the product.
She said the OTC would provide investors access to a diverse range of securities, particularly in the SMEs, which form the fiber of Ghana’s economy.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE
