According to a new report on Economic and Financial Market Review, compiled by Tesah Capital, Treasury bills sale was undersubscribed by 10.5 percent during the third quarter of 2021.

The overall subscription rate was 89.5 percent, down from the government of Ghana’s target of GH¢16.83 billion, as investors shifted their interest to the bond market in search of higher yields.

The interest rates for the 364-day, 182-day and 91-day T-bills also declined by 19 basis points, 17 basis points and 13 basis points from the second quarter of 2021, to 16.14% , 13.21% and 12.49% respectively, in the third quarter 2021.

However, activity on the secondary bond market also increased, with the turnover increasing by 92.4% year-on-year in quarter three 2021 to ¢49.37 billion, from ¢25.66 billion in quarter 3, 2020.

The Government of Ghana (GoG) securities accounted for 85.5 percent of total volumes traded in third quarter of 2021, down from 90.8 percent recorded in second quarter 2021. This was due to an increase in corporate bond issuances during the period, that is: ESLA, Daakye and Letshego.

The Government of Ghana securities constituted 80.83 percent of the market size as of September, 2021.

GSE Equities Market Exhibit Outstanding Performance

For the equity market, the Ghana Stock Exchange Composite Index (GSE-CI) continued on an upward trajectory as the Ghana Stock Exchange Composite Index (GSE-CI) inched up in quarter three of 2021. GSE-CI closed the third quarter at 2,855.29 points, going up by 211.62 points. Previously, the GSE composite index stood at 2,643.67 points in quarter two of 2021. The Ghana Stock Exchange also closed the third quarter with a year-to-date return of 47.06 percent.

The equities market performance during the third quarter was driven mainly by gains recorded by Ghana Stock Exchange Financial Stock Index (GSE-FSI).

The GSE-Financial Stock Index which comprised of financial stocks and insurance, gained 9.82 percent, following the release of the 2021 financial results of listed banks as compared to a gain of 1.38 percent in the previous quarter.

However, trading volumes declined by 41.8 percent as share volume of 73.50 million valued at GH¢103.55 million changed hands. Comparatively, 104.22 million shares valued at GH¢135.24 million changed hands in second quarter of 2021.

MTN Ghana dominated the market in volume traded. MTN Ghana accounted for 87.48 percent of total shares traded in the third quarter of 2021.

Performance of GSE in the First Day of November

At the end of the first weekday of trading on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), a total of 50,750 shares, corresponding to a market value of GHS 131,644.76, were traded. Compared with the previous GSE trading day (Friday, October 29), Monday’s data show 79 percent decline in volume but 27 percent improvement in turnover. The current market capitalization of the Ghana Stock Exchange is GHS 64.3 billion.

In the aggregate, seven GSE equities participated in trading, ending with only one gainer, namely Benso Oil Palm Plantation, with 10 percent share price appreciation.

MTN Ghana recorded the highest volume of 31,604 traded shares, followed by GCB Bank (11,356), Fan Milk (4,000) and Benso Oil Palm Plantation (2,000).