Ghana's capital market in modest resurgence on improving macroeconomic environment

Expectations are high for a rebound of Ghana's capital market as prospects for improved macro-economic environment with measures by government for fiscal consolidation and economic growth crystallize.

Dzifa Amegashie, Head of Investor Relations said that the first quarter of this year saw a rebound of performances of listed companies on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).

"I certainly think that the first quarter has started well, we are still down on the last quarter but the trend has turned and we expect that (with) some of the fiscal stability that will come through with reduced inflation, reduced interest rate and a reduced policy rate we should be able to deploy more assets in the retail sector," she said after CAL Bank's encounter with investors at GSE on Wednesday.

Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange, Kofi Yamoah also noted that the GSE was resurging gradually after the two year cyclical lapse.

He explained that 2016 being an election year saw many non-resident investors sitting on the fence, waiting to see what would happen.

"With inflation going down; interest rates going down and other macro-economic indicators improving, we expect that faith in the market will grow, and interest in the market will resume," he stated.

The Accra Bourse posted negative growth over the past two years -- the result of a difficult macroeconomic environment, but has had a 10 percent rebound in its index since the first quarter of 2017.

Interest rates went up to about 35 percent, with the Central Bank's policy rate soaring to 26 percent and inflation heading up to about 19 percent in the beginning of 2016 before trending down gradually in the second half of that year. Endit