Mr. Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Ghana (SEC), has indicated that Ponzi schemes, FX, and other factors are preventing the growth of the Ghanaian capital market.
According to the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, these challenges are mainly economic forces beyond the immediate control of the apex regulatory body in the capital market.
Mr. Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, meanwhile, listed them as risk-free interest rates, recession and foreign exchange-related challenges; low funding for regulatory capacity and infrastructure development; proliferation of Ponzi schemes, as well as global financial risks, including the implications of declining economic growth.
However, the Director General of SEC is doing everything possible to ensure the ecosystem remains stable, despite the challenges bothering the sector.
Mr. Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh praised the effectiveness of the 10-year Capital Market Masterplan to consolidate the successes achieved and to incorporate important developments occasioned by the dynamism of the capital market and the global economy.
“We have launched our maiden Capital Market Master Plan (CMMP) in May 2021 to serve as the blueprint for developing the Ghanaian capital market over the next 10 years. We remain committed as we work together to boost our capital market and push for our integration of the capital market in the sub-region.”
Mr. Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh
The Master Plan to Improve Diversity
The Director General added tgat the country’s master plan is being implemented under four major pillars of improving the diversity of investments products and market liquidity, increasing investors base, improving the market infrastructure and market services and improving regulations, investors confidences and enforcement.
The Director General emphasized that the agency has achieved quite a lot through careful implementation of sound initiatives, which include the introduction of rules on green bonds to promote the issuance of debt instruments for the financing of environmentally friendly projects and to provide the regulatory framework necessary for sustainability finance in Ghana.
Another achievement, Rev. Daniel Ogbarmey noted was the creation of a Fintech and Innovation Division dedicated to products and services rooted in information technology, while the dematerialization of share certificates, e-dividend and direct cash settlement are the other successes recorded halfway through the plan.
Other achievements, Rev. Ogbarmey noted are the development and implementation of the roadmap for fintech in the Ghanaian capital market; the development of the crowdfunding regulatory framework, which could potentially transform Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) financing in the country; and the release of new Rules on Virtual Assets Service Providers (VASPs) to ensure there is no loop-hole for financial crimes like money laundering through digital assets traded in the market.
The Director General, moreover, disclosed that SEC has recently, approved the rules for issuing Green Bond and Sustainability-themed products in the Ghanaian capital market. He noted that the framework for green and social bonds will increase the range of product offerings in the market while addressing important environmental and social issues which have gained the attention of financial markets over the last two decades.
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