Ghana’s fixed-income market is showing a clear preference for short-term government securities, with Treasury bills emerging as the dominant force behind trading activity on the Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM).
Turnover rose to GH¢968.22 million during the September 16 trading session, moving the market closer to the psychologically important GH¢1 billion mark as investors concentrated heavily on Treasury bills.
Data from the Ghana Fixed Income Market showed that the latest turnover was generated through 335 trades, compared with approximately GH¢883.18 million in the previous session. The increase of about 9.6% highlights a noticeable pickup in market activity.
Yet the headline figure only tells part of the story. The real development lies in where the money was moving.
Treasury Bills Command the Market
Treasury bills accounted for GH¢624.64 million of total turnover, representing 64.5% of all activity during the session.
That made T-bills the undisputed centre of liquidity, far ahead of other fixed-income instruments traded during the day.
Their dominance was even stronger when measured by the number of transactions. Treasury bills accounted for 283 of the 335 trades recorded, equivalent to approximately 84.5% of total transactions.
The figures point to a market where investors are not simply participating in large volumes, but are repeatedly returning to short-dated government securities as their preferred trading instruments.
DDEP bonds followed with GH¢175.82 million, while sell/buy-back transactions in government securities generated another GH¢157.23 million.
Combined, these three categories accounted for approximately GH¢957.69 million, or nearly 99% of total GFIM turnover.
That leaves conventional government bonds and corporate debt with only a small slice of the market.
GH¢338m Pours Into 364-Day Bills
Activity within the Treasury-bill segment was also heavily concentrated around specific maturities.
The 364-day bill category generated GH¢338.63 million, representing 54.2% of total Treasury-bill turnover.
The 91-day bills followed with GH¢174.83 million, while 182-day bills contributed GH¢111.18 million.
One security stood out above the rest.
The 91-day Treasury bill maturing on December 14, 2026 recorded GH¢169.77 million across 59 transactions. It closed at an approximate yield of 4.78% and a price of GH¢98.85.
That single instrument accounted for more than 27% of total T-bill turnover and approximately 17.5% of the entire GFIM session.
Such concentration shows how quickly liquidity can gather around a particular government security when there is strong demand and an active secondary market.
The 182-day bill maturing on March 15, 2027 also attracted significant attention, recording GH¢108.28 million across seven transactions. It ended the session at an approximate yield of 6.42% and a price of GH¢96.92.
Among the 364-day bills, the April 5, 2027 maturity led trading with GH¢91.91 million across two transactions and closed at a yield of about 6.98%.
Investors Follow the Yield Curve
The trading pattern also reflects the structure of yields across the Treasury-bill curve.
Shorter-dated instruments generally traded at lower yields, while investors received progressively higher yields as they moved further along the maturity spectrum.
The pattern gives investors a straightforward choice between shorter exposure and higher returns available from committing funds for longer periods.
It also helps explain why Treasury bills continue to attract such substantial liquidity. Their relatively short maturities allow investors to manage cash more frequently while retaining access to an established secondary market.
The latest session therefore reinforces the role of T-bills as a key instrument in Ghana’s fixed-income trading ecosystem.
DDEP Bonds Maintain Strong Second Position
DDEP bonds remained the second-largest outright securities category, generating GH¢175.82 million across 18 trades.
The February 15, 2028 DDEP bond, carrying an 8.50% coupon, was the most actively traded security within the segment. It recorded GH¢68.39 million across four transactions and closed at a yield of 12.02% and a price of GH¢95.50.
Another notable transaction involved the February 8, 2033 DDEP bond, which generated GH¢50 million in a single outright trade. The security closed at a yield of 14.22% and a price of approximately GH¢79.50.
The February 7, 2034 bond added GH¢16.70 million, while the August 15, 2028 instrument recorded GH¢23.60 million.
Sell/buy-back activity was also substantial, reaching GH¢157.23 million across only 12 trades.
The February 8, 2033 DDEP bond dominated this category, generating GH¢116.42 million across three transactions at a weighted yield of 12%. That represented roughly 74% of total sell/buy-back turnover.
New Government Bonds Struggle for Attention
While the market approached the GH¢1 billion turnover threshold, newly issued government bonds attracted relatively limited activity.
The four-year Government of Ghana bond maturing on September 2, 2030 generated just GH¢3.93 million across seven transactions. It closed at a yield of 11.59% and a price of GH¢101.26.
There was no recorded turnover in the seven-year new government bond.
Old Government of Ghana notes and bonds also recorded only GH¢168,800 across four trades.
The figures underline the gap between the strong liquidity enjoyed by Treasury bills and the comparatively modest activity in longer-duration conventional government securities.
Corporate Bonds Remain on the Sidelines
Corporate debt also remained a small part of the session.
Corporate bond turnover stood at GH¢6.44 million, representing less than 1% of total GFIM activity.
All reported corporate trading was concentrated in COCOBOD securities. The August 28, 2028 bond generated GH¢3.56 million across four trades, closing at GH¢103.33, while the August 30, 2027 bond recorded GH¢2.88 million across seven transactions and closed at GH¢102.18.
The contrast is striking. Ghana’s fixed-income market can generate close to GH¢1 billion in daily turnover, yet corporate securities continue to account for only a fraction of that activity.
Liquidity Remains Concentrated
The session paints a market where liquidity is strong, but highly concentrated.
Treasury bills remain the primary destination for outright trading, DDEP bonds continue to provide meaningful activity in the restructured sovereign market, and sell/buy-back transactions are contributing substantial turnover.
Meanwhile, new government bonds and corporate securities remain peripheral.
The next sessions will show whether GFIM can maintain turnover near the GH¢1 billion level and whether liquidity begins spreading more broadly across the yield curve.
Until then, Treasury bills remain the clear liquidity powerhouse, accounting for almost two-thirds of turnover and more than four-fifths of all transactions on the secondary fixed-income market.
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