Ghana’s fixed-income market recorded a sharp surge in trading activity, but the latest figures have exposed a striking imbalance in the country’s debt market. Government securities accounted for a staggering 99.30% of total turnover on the Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM), leaving corporate bonds and other private-sector instruments struggling for meaningful investor attention.
Total market turnover climbed to GH¢3.52 billion from GH¢2.36 billion in the previous session, representing an increase of 48.79%. The GH¢1.15 billion jump came alongside a rise in transactions from 366 to 620, indicating a substantial expansion in trading activity.
However, the dominance of government-issued instruments raises questions about the depth of Ghana’s fixed-income market and the ability of private companies to attract investors seeking alternatives to sovereign debt.
Government Securities Tighten Their Grip on the Market
The latest trading figures reinforce the central role government securities play in Ghana’s fixed-income market. Treasury bills, Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) bonds and other government instruments collectively accounted for almost the entire value traded during the session.
Treasury bills emerged as the biggest driver of the increase, with turnover more than doubling from GH¢970.94 million on October 26 to GH¢2.23 billion on October 27. This represented a remarkable 129.48% increase in a single trading session.
The short-term instruments accounted for 63.36% of total market turnover, overtaking DDEP bonds as the leading asset class.
The surge suggests that investors remain keenly interested in government-backed instruments, particularly those offering defined maturity dates and relatively short investment horizons. Yet the concentration also highlights the limited space occupied by corporate issuers in a market where sovereign securities continue to dictate trading volumes.
The number of transactions increased significantly, although the average transaction value declined from approximately GH¢6.46 million to GH¢5.67 million. This suggests that the market expansion was supported by a broader number of trades rather than a uniform increase in the size of individual transactions.
364-Day Treasury Bills Attract the Biggest Money
Investor appetite was heavily concentrated in 364-day Treasury bills, which generated approximately GH¢2.19 billion, representing 98.07% of total Treasury-bill turnover.
The preference for these instruments indicates that investors are willing to commit funds for longer than the shortest available Treasury-bill tenors while maintaining exposure to a relatively short maturity period.
The bill maturing on April 12, 2027, led trading with GH¢631.24 million across four transactions. It closed at a yield of 5.94% and a price of GH¢97.35, accounting for 28.33% of Treasury-bill turnover.
The instrument was followed by the bill maturing on May 3, 2027, which attracted GH¢505 million at a closing yield of 6.37%. The May 10, 2027 instrument generated GH¢234.83 million at 6.56%, while the October 4, 2027 bill recorded GH¢218.79 million at a yield of 9.40%.
The difference in yields across maturities highlights the premium investors demand for holding government securities for longer periods. Although demand remains strong, the higher yields on longer-dated instruments suggest that investors continue to account for interest-rate, inflation and fiscal uncertainties.
DDEP Bonds Retain a Significant Share
Despite losing their position as the market’s largest asset class, DDEP bonds remained a major component of trading, recording GH¢1.26 billion across 78 transactions.
The volume represented 35.70% of total GFIM turnover, although it declined by 9.43% from GH¢1.39 billion in the previous session.
Trading was concentrated in a handful of securities. The February 2029 bond generated GH¢525.30 million from 51 transactions and closed at a yield of 14.04%. The February 2032 bond followed with GH¢479.34 million across 15 trades, closing at 14.75%.
Together, the two instruments accounted for 80.03% of DDEP bond turnover. Including the GH¢206.74 million traded in the February 2027 bond, the three securities represented 96.50% of the segment.
This concentration suggests that liquidity remains uneven across the restructured bond market. Rather than spreading their activity across multiple maturities, investors appear to favour selected securities where pricing is more visible and counterparties are easier to find.
The DDEP yield curve also remained upward-sloping, with the February 2027 bond closing at 10.87% and the February 2037 security at 15.57%. The difference reflects the additional compensation investors demand for longer exposure to sovereign credit and interest-rate risks.
Corporate Bonds Struggle to Compete
While government securities attracted billions of cedis, activity in private-sector debt instruments remained marginal.
Corporate bond turnover stood at just GH¢2.24 million, led by a Ghana Cocoa Board bond maturing in August 2027, which accounted for GH¢1.65 million.
Commercial-paper activity fell by 80.96% to GH¢197,777, while no transactions were recorded in green and sustainable bonds.
The contrast exposes a persistent challenge for Ghana’s capital market. Although the fixed-income market provides an avenue for businesses to raise longer-term funding, actual trading activity remains overwhelmingly concentrated in government securities.
Limited secondary-market liquidity can make corporate debt less attractive to investors who may want the flexibility to sell their holdings before maturity. Issuers may consequently face greater difficulty building investor confidence and establishing competitive pricing.
Expanding corporate bond participation would require stronger investor demand, more consistent issuance, improved transparency and a deeper pool of market participants.
Liquidity Improves, but Market Depth Remains a Concern
Trading in newly issued government bonds increased nearly sevenfold to GH¢8.15 million, while sell-and-buyback transactions surged by 439.11% to GH¢22.34 million. The latter points to increased use of government securities for short-term liquidity management.
However, newly issued government bonds accounted for only 0.23% of total turnover, while corporate and commercial-paper instruments remained insignificant in comparison with Treasury bills and DDEP bonds.
The strong rise in total turnover therefore does not necessarily indicate that liquidity has improved evenly across Ghana’s entire debt market.
The next challenge will be to broaden investor participation beyond government securities and encourage more active trading in corporate bonds, commercial paper and sustainable-finance instruments.
Until that happens, government debt is likely to remain the dominant force shaping liquidity, pricing and investor activity on the Ghana Fixed Income Market.
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