Golden Star Goes Public

Investor confidence is expected to soar as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday approved the prospectus meant for the listing of mining giants, Golden Star Resources, on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).

This makes the company the second to be approved by the regulator of the capital market this week after SIC, and the third this year after GOIL and the insurance company.

According to the Head of Research and Market Development at the SEC, Emmanuel Ashong-Katai, the commission has thoroughly scrutinized the prospectus of Golden Star Resources which has met all requirements for listing on the exchange.

CITY & BUSINESS GUIDE gathers that the company wants to do everything possible to list this year even though it would have to compete with SIC for investors.

The US-based second largest mining company in the world, which operates the Prestea/Bogoso and Wassa mines in the Western Region, is expected to issue 2,965,617 shares at GH¢3.50 each, amounting to GH¢95.01 billion.

Already, the GSE and the Bank of Ghana have approved the prospectus of Golden Star Resources.

The company in September responded to President John Agyekum Kufuor's call for multinational companies to list on the GSE as it announced its intention of listing on the Accra Bourse.

It said since the majority of its exploration and production assets were located in Ghana, it wanted to be listed on the local stock exchange to support the further growth of the exchange.

While the listing on the GSE is intended to add up to the company's listing on the Toronto and the American Stock Exchanges, it will enable common shares of Golden Star to be tradable on all three exchanges.

Executive Director of lead brokerage firm, Strategic African Securities Limited, Abena Amoah said the expected gross proceeds from the IPO is estimated to be $10 million and the pricing of the shares is based on the market pricing in North America.

Golden Star holds a 90 per cent equity interest in Golden Star (Bogoso/Prestea) Limited and Golden Star (Wassa) Limited.

In addition, it has an 81 per cent interest in the currently inactive Prestea underground mine, as well as gold exploration interests elsewhere in the country, in other parts of West Africa and in the Guiana Shield of South America.

It has approximately 233 million shares outstanding.

By Charles Nixon Yeboah