Mr Joseph Cudjoe, the Minister of Public Enterprises, has disclosed that the government is working on a policy to ensure that it enlists a number of profitable State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) on the Ghana Stock Exchange for the first time.
According to the Minister of Public Enterprises, an Equity Study is currently being undertaken, out of which an implementation will lead to a government action toward a strategic investor to participate in the sustainability of some SOES.
“This study will determine which SOEs are required to be put on the stock market to enable Ghanaians to take ownership part in the enterprises.
“Also, this study will determine SOEs that will need to be disposed off completely because their market potential may not exist or the private sector can better handle them, or for any other reason that their assets or enterprises as a whole should be disposed of off to enable private sector manage them efficiently.”
Mr Joseph Cudjoe
Mr. Joseph Cudjoe explained that the Equity Study has been granted expression along with ongoing work and an memo for the asset disposal policy.
“So far, we have gone to cabinet for a start and it has directed that we provide more comprehensive information on the Equity Study and the implementation of the assent disposal policy.”
Mr. Joseph Cudjoe
To ensure SOEs remain profitable and efficient, the minister said the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) is handling the rollout of the Performance Management Framework.
Document Currently Undergoing Stakeholder Review
Mr. Joseph Cudjoe disclosed that the document is currently undergoing stakeholder review in order to make it efficient for use.
Recently, the State Interest and Governance Authority shortlisted 11 state-owned enterprises for listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE). This follows a review of 36 companies, out of which the 11 were shortlisted as the first cohort to list and raise capital from the GSE.
The SIGA set up a technical and steering committee in February last year, with representatives from the GSE, SIGA, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), to review the performance of the state entities.
This forms part of several strategies being deployed to make state entities profitable and capable of contributing significantly to the development of the country.
Earlier in the year, the government also sought to raise over GH¢2 billion by listing 15 targeted State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in order to make them profitable and attractive to investors.
The GSE has since entered into a formal partnership and currently working with the Ministry of Public Enterprises and State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) to ensure that the initiative comes to fruition through assessment of the SOEs to ensure that they are investment ready.
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