GSE Trades GH¢475.2m Shares In 1st Half

The value of shares traded for the first half of this year on the Accra Bourse was GH¢457.25 million compared to GH¢364.05 million in the same period in 2017, representing an increase of 25.6 percent.

Kofi Yamoah, Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) Managing Director, speaking to journalists in Accra, said the market indicators have been mixed, noting that although the volume of shares traded has declined, the value was good.

According to him, the GSE performed well in the half year of 2018, having recorded a much higher value of traded securities over the period than in the same period in 2017, especially for the equity market.

Compared with inflation, interest and exchange rates, he said the GSE Composite Index recorded a substantial gain.

The GSE Composite Index recorded a gain of 11.62 per cent in the half-year to June 2018 compared to interest equivalent of 91-Day Bill of 6.66 percent, inflation of 10.0 percent and US dollar appreciation against the cedi of 2.43 percent in the same period.

Commenting on the value of bills traded, Mr Yamoah said it declined from GH¢3,085.5 million in the first half of 2017 to GH¢2,373.6 million in the first half of 2018 as a result of the shift from short term bills to longer term bonds.

Noting that there was only one new equity listing in the first half of this year valued at GH¢9.5 million, he said two more – MTN Ghana and Energy Commercial Bank – were expected before the end of the year.

He further said Ghana's macroeconomic factors for the period were mixed, with both negative and positive influences, as well as a slower economic activity due to lower oil production and slower growth in agriculture, sell-off of securities by non-resident investors due to profit taking and rise in US Federal rates, as well as pressure on the cedi from a strong US dollar.

On the positive side, the exchange benefitted from continued investor confidence in Ghana from new oil and gas fields expected to come on stream, satisfactory IMF review of the economy, and the anticipated re-basing of Ghana's GDP in September 2018 with a new base year of 2013.

Listed companies also had mixed results in the first half, with some posting higher profits in the period than in 2017 and vice versa.

In the banking category, which had eight listed companies for instance, three posted higher profits while five posted lower profits for the period.

Two Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies posted higher profits and two posted lower profits, while the two oil companies both recorded higher profits.

“The main equity market, as at June 2018, had a capitalization of GH¢55,188 million compared to GH¢59,384 million at June 2017.

“The second component of the market, the Ghana Alternative Market (GAX), had a capitalization of GH¢57 million as at June 2018 compared to GH¢44million in 2017, and the third leg of our market is the Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM), which had a total of GH¢57 million bonds and notes on that market,” he said.