President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday, August 25, 2020, paid a working visit to the trading floor of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) to ascertain the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its activities and what the government could do to assist in the process of getting a stronger market.
President Akufo-Addo said the GSE is one of the critical instruments for growing the country’s economy and ensuring the possibility of Ghanaians becoming prosperous, adding that it is important that “those of us who have to make decisions affecting the economy must have a clear idea what goes on here.”
He said a strong and robust stock exchange is a reflection of a strong market economy and “so whatever that can be done to strengthen the exchange is inevitably tired up to what can be done to strengthen the economy.”
President Akufo-Addo who was accompanied by the Chief of Staff, Madam Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, and the minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, said the country has, in the last four to five months, had gone through some difficult times, “not just here in Ghana, but the entire world, which has had a major impact on the economies of the world.”
The President assured the GSE that “whatever that can be done on the part of my government to assist in the process.
He said GSE’s solid credentials as “the best innovative stock exchange in Africa, with the corporation, collaboration and support of the government could be utilised to make it stronger.”
This commitment, the President indicated, was the same reason why “I was in London for the arrangement between you and the London Stock Exchange. I believe it is important, the political philosophy, and economic ideology to which I subscribe to.”
The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta assured GSE that and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the Ministry of Finance would do everything it could to make the greatest.
Mr. Ekow Afedzie, MD, Ghana Stock Exchange said the COVID-19 has not had any negative impact on the market’s activities except on volumes and trading values traded on the market, especially in terms of the index that has gone negative for a while.
He said among GSE’s key challenges are how to get more companies to list on the market and how to get Ghanaian entrepreneurs and companies to utilise the market to raise money, especially, long term funds.
Mr. Afedzie assured that the GSE would keep on educating the Ghanaian entrepreneurs and companies, create incentives for them but urged the government to design and implement policies that could also help attract them to list on the market.
Rex Mainoo Yeboah, ISD
