Ghana Stock Exchange To Go Commercial

The Ghana Stock Exchange is to go commercial as part of its effort to demutualise in order to ensure the financial stability of the exchange. The commercialisation of the GSE is expected to maximise revenue for shareholders, grow existing businesses and introduce new products.

The Chairman of the GSE Council, Mr. Frank Adu Jnr., disclosed that GSE has taken steps to realise its commercialisation by 2013. He made this known at the 21st Annual General Meeting of the GSE held in Accra. Commercialisation of the GSE, which will make it a public company limited by shares, will see the introduction of new products such as the Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), whose value appreciate with the increase in the price of Gold and vice-versa.

Mr. Adu said “during the year 2010, the Council also approved a three- year strategic plan for 2011 to 2013. Under the plan the exchange is to have a greater focus on commercialisation as part of its move towards demutualisation in the long term.” The exchange adopted a new company regulation and voted to change its Council membership from 13 to nine.

In the year in retrospect, the integration of the West African markets could not materialise due largely to the re-organisation of the Nigerian market and the political upheaval in Cote d’Ivoire, where the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières SA ("Regional Securities Exchange SA") or BRVM was headquartered.

The 2010 financial year saw a slow recovery of the market. Though trading volume picked up, it fell short of the record levels reached in 2008. The exchange saw several additional listings during the year under review, though there were no new company listings. The exchange and its wholly-owned subsidiary, the GSE Securities, made a surplus after tax of GH¢87,734.

The GSE All-Share Index went up 32.25 percent from 5, 572.34 in 2009 to 7,369.21 at the end of December 2010. The Managing Director of the GSE, Mr. Kofi Yamoah, noted that the volume of shares traded went up by 241% from 96.77million in 2009 to 330.13million in 2010.

Mr. Yamoah disclosed that the GSE will continue to do its normal business as well as introduce new products such as the ETF when it goes commercial. The ETF is expected to start by the end of the year, while Kosmos Oil Plc is expected to list within the same period. The number of Licensed Dealing Members (LDMs) increased from 18 to 20 during the 2010 financial year.