Global Market — Page 109

Central depository merger in Ghana

December 24, 2013 by IC Insider.com

The Central Securities Depository GH and GSE Securities Depository Company are to merge with effect from the beginning of 2014. The Central Securities Depository (GH) Ltd shall be the surviving entity with the effective date of the merger is January 1, 2014. Bank of Ghana will own 82% of the new company and transfer 18% to the Ghana Stock Exchange. The Ghana Stock Exchange will be allowed to increase its shareholding up to 30% within one (1) year at a price existing at the time of the merger.

The merged entity will handle securities listed and unlisted on the Ghana Stock Exchange as well as Government of Ghana and Bank of Ghana Instruments, Cooperate Bonds and Money Market Instruments. It will also operate the registrar services under the licence granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“The merger will provide a common depository platform for the two institutions and harmonisation of trading as well as clearing and settlement practices. This will generate benefits and thus create significant additional value for all market participants,” a release from the Ghana Stock Exchange said.

“The merger will make for a more efficient trading of fixed income and equity securities and reduce operational cost for the merged depository and lower transaction costs for market participants. It will also make the market more attractive to investors. Investors will maintain only one account for all their portfolio. The resources of the shareholders, Bank of Ghana and Ghana Stock Exchange can be pooled together to build a state-of the-art infrastructure to modernise the operations of the depositor.” the release went on to state.

A new Board of Directors will be appointed by the two shareholders to manage the affairs of the company. Stephen Tetteh, maintains his position as Chief Executive Officer while Melvina Amoafo, the current Executive Director of the GSE Securities Depository Company assumes the position of Deputy Chief Executive. All staff of the GSE Securities Depository Company will be absorbed into the new company.

The Central Securities Depository GH Ltd was established in 2004 to manage the issue, redemption and maintain the records of ownership of securities issued by Government of Ghana, Bank of Ghana and the Ghana Cocobod. The Central Securities Depository is wholly owned by the Bank of Ghana.

In 2008, the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) established the GSE Securities Depository Company Limited (GSD) as a subsidiary to provide custody for securities listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange and also to provide for the dematerialization of share certificates.

“It has been realised that the capital market in Ghana is not big enough to be served by two depositories. The Ministry of Finance facilitated discussions since 2010 between the Bank of Ghana and the Ghana Stock Exchange towards a merger of the two subsidiaries,” the release said.

In April 2013, a Transaction Advisor was engaged to advise on the process. The Due Diligence Reports and Valuations Reports of the Transaction Advisor were accepted by the Boards of the Bank of Ghana and the Ghana Stock Exchange.

GSE: Market up for week

December 20, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Friday, 20th December, 2013 | Market sentiments improved this past week with 14 out of the 37 listed stocks closed the week with bids, unlike the week before when only 8 closed with bids.

Seventeen stocks ended the week with offers versus 22 the week before. Seven stocks ended with gains for the week and six declined but the number of bids is an indication of weakness in the market with several companies reporting disappointing results coming off a decline in the value of minerals on the world market.

The main market index closed at 2,146.91m up from last week’s 2130.87 for a 78.95 percent gain year to date. The financial index at 1,780.30 is down from 1,780.47 the week before for a 71.21 percent gain for the year to date.

The big price movers came from Tullow Oil Plc that gained GH¢2.98 to close at GH¢34.98 for 9 percent increase for the week; Guinness Ghana Breweries gained GH¢0.30 to end at GH¢6.40 for a 5 percent gain; ALUWORKS gained just GH¢0.01 to close at GH¢0.05 for a 17 percent increase; Ayrton Drugs Manufacturing Company gained 6 percent to close at Gina Harrison¢0.17; Ccocoa Producer regained the GH¢0.01 it lost last week for a 100 percent gained.

Related posts | Ghana stocks poised for correction

Filed Under: Global Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Ghana Stock Exchange, Trading Activity

GSE: Stocks poised for correction

December 13, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Friday, 13th December 2013 | The Ghana Stock Exchange fell slightly for the week to Thursday but gained on Friday by 5.07 points to end marginally above last week’s close. The main market index closing at 2130.87 up from last week’s 2,129.69 for a 77.19 percent gain year to date and the financial at 1,780.47 up from 1,774.36 the week before for a 70.57 percent gain for the year to date.

At the end of trading, the price of 3 stocks were down and 3 were up for the week. The marginal change to the index is reflective of the narrowness of the number of stocks with price movements in either direction.

For the week, Aluworks gained 25 percent as the price moved up by GH¢0.01 to GH¢0.06, Cocoa Processing Company dropped 50 percent to hit GH¢0.01, Starwin Products dropped 25 percent to reach GH¢0.03 and Ghana Commercial Bank gained 2 percent to end at GH¢4.90 but had a bid at the close above the last selling price at GH¢4.91, last week it gained one percent.

The market seems to have weakened with just 8 stocks having bids at the end of trading, while there are 22 stocks with offers. The vast majority of the offer prices are the same as the last selling prices of the stocks, an indication of selling pressure.

Filed Under: Global Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Berger Paints, Ghana Stock Exchange

GSE: Stocks up for week

November 25, 2013 by IC Insider.com

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The Ghana Stock Market is up 77.71 percent so far this year to the week ending November 22, a marginal increase over the 77.36 percent gained registered up to the week before with the market index moving up to 2,132.01 points at the end of the week from the prior week’s 2,127.79 points. The financial index that closed at 1,778.22 points at the end of November 15, is now up to 1,782.43 for a 71.41 percent gain for the year to date.

During the week, 8 stocks rose versus 4 that recorded declines a much improved position compared to the prior week when there were 6 declining stocks to 2 that advanced.

Cocoa Processing Company gained 50 percent to end the week at Gina Harrison¢0.02; Ecobank Transnational gained 6 percent to close at Gina Harrison¢0.18; HFC Bank Ltd, the bank that Trinidad’s Republic Bank has 40 percent ownership in, which gained 6.4 percent during the week ending November 15 gained a further 8 percent to close at Gina Harrison¢0.90. The week before it gained 13 percent and is now up 100 percent for the year to date. Mechanical Lloyd Company that sells and services BMW cars and motor cycles, Ford vehicles, Massey Ferguson agricultural machinery and Delphi products gained 5 percent to be up 153 percent year to date. Ayrton Drugs Manufacturing Company recorded a 6 percent gain.

Aluworksm an aluminium continuous casting and cold rolling company, lost 20 percent of its value during the week to close at GH¢0.05 and Benso Oil Palm Plantation lost 19 percent to close at GH¢3.20.

Filed Under: Global Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Ghana, Ghana Stock Exchange, Trading Activity

GSE: Stocks up 77%

November 16, 2013 by IC Insider.com

The Ghana Stock Exchange is up 77.36 percent so far this year with the market index moving up to 2,127.79 points at the end of this week.

The financial index is at 1,778.22 points for a 71 percent gain for the year to date. During the week, only two stocks rose versus 6 that recorded declines, an unfavourable position compared to the prior week when there were 10 declining stocks to 8 that advanced. Changes in price was marginal in most cases during the past week.

HFC Bank Ltd, the bank that Trinidad’s Republic Bank has 40 percent ownership in, gained 6.4 percent during the week to close at GH¢0.83, the week before it gained 13 percent. Generally, price movements last week were more pronounced, ranging from a 25 percent drop in the price of Transol Solutions (Ghana), a 9 percent decline in Societe Generale Ghana and 6 percent fall in Ayrton Drugs Manufacturing Company and Ecobank Transnational and a 7 percent gain in Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Ltd.

Image courtesy of Domdeen/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Filed Under: Global Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Ghana, Ghana Stock Exchange, Trading Activity

Ghana chucking along, up 76.72%

November 4, 2013 by IC Insider.com

At the end of September, the African country’s stock market was up 68 percent but it has put on additional 8 percentage points by the first trading day in November.

In the week to November 1st, ten stocks gained versus only two to fall as the Ghana Stock Exchange index climbed to 2,120.18 points up from 2,094.70 at the end of the prior week.

The main movers for the week are, Ayrton Drugs Manufacturing which gained 6 percent in the week and closed at GH¢0.18. Ecobank Ghana closed up 8 percent at GH¢5.50, Mechanical Lloyd gained 3 percent for the week and closed at GH¢0.36, SIC Insurance was up 3 percent to GH¢0.39, UT Bank gained 2 percent to end at GH¢0.45.

The market is still showing signs that it will be going higher, with a number of stocks having bids higher than the last sale price and in some cases no stock on offer, and a number with bids placed at the last sale price with no supply around the last selling price.

Filed Under: Global Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Ghana Stock Exchange, Trading Activity

Ghana Stock market inching higher

October 22, 2013 by IC Insider.com

The Ghana Stock Exchange, which has been on a tear for 2013 having clocked up 71 percent up to the week ended October 11, went on to record further gains this past week with the market index closing at 2,088.92 points to be up 74.12 percent year-to-date after recording another positive week of gains.

Nine stocks recorded price gains for the week and 3 declined with Ecobank Ghana gaining 11 percent to close at GH¢5, still leaving the PE ratio under 2 times this year’s earnings. SIC Insurance Company gained 5 percent to end at GH¢0.40 but the stock still looks cheap with ongoing earnings resulting in a PE of just over 1 times earnings and Tullow Oil Plc traded up GH¢0.50 to close at GH¢31.70. At the close, the bid for this stock was GH¢32 and the stock now trades at around 25 times 2013 earnings after writing off exploration cost.

The Cedi is the Ghana currency with approximately GH¢2 equals US1 dollar.

Related posts | Ghana stocks now up 71.4% | Big gains in Ghana Stocks

Filed Under: Global Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Ghana Stock Exchange, PE Ratios, Trading Activity

Ghana stocks now up 71.4%

October 14, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Friday 11th October 2013 | The Ghana Stock Exchange closed the week on Friday at 2,056.27 points gaining more than 36 points for the week as 11 stocks recorded prices gains and 2 declined.

The market gained 71.4% year to date according to data from the stock exchange. During the week Guinness Ghana Brewery gained 14 percent as the price moved up by GH¢0.75 to close at GH¢6.20; the PE for Guinness is around 7 times 2013 earnings. Sam Woode Ltd, involved in publishing of educational books, printing and related businesses went up 50 percent but that was from GH¢0.02 to GH¢0.03; the last financial statements seen for Sam Woode is for 2010.

HFC Bank Ltd, the bank that Republic Bank in Trinidad now owns 40 percent, climbed by 5 percent to GH¢0.68 and Mechanical Lloyd Company gained 5 percent to end at GH¢0.33. Mechanical Lloyd are the exclusive agents for the sale and servicing of BMW cars and motor cycles, Ford vehicles, Massey Ferguson agricultural machinery and Delphi products in Ghana.

The Cedi is the Ghana currency, approximately GH¢2 to the US dollar.

Filed Under: Global Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Ghana, Republic Bank, Trading Activity

Big gains in Ghana Stocks

October 6, 2013 by IC Insider.com

The Ghana Stock Market is up 68 percent for the year to the end of September, even as interest rates were raised from 11 percent to 21 percent on T-bills in response to depreciation of the local currency. The increase in T-bill rates took effect last year and for most of 2013.

Ghana’s economy grew by 7.9 percent last year and is projected to grow 7 percent in 2013, this according to the statement made by the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday. Notwithstanding the forecast for strong growth, the funding agency said, “It will be difficult for Ghana to keep its budget deficit below 10 percent this year.” However, the government says its deficit will fall to 9 percent this year from 12.1 percent in 2012.

One key risk for the economy of Ghana, an exporter of cocoa, gold and oil, is its current account deficit, which will rise to 13 percent of gross domestic product this year, the IMF said.

Headline inflation stayed within the target range of 8.5 per cent ± 2 per cent in 2012 but has climbed to 11.5 percent in August this year. Monetary policy faced a major challenge of dealing with a rapidly depreciating currency in the first half of 2012. Monetary policy was tightened thus moving rates from 11 percent to 21 percent on Treasury Bills. The exchange rate slipped from 1.64 cedi to the US dollar to 2 cedi to the US dollar.

It against this background that several stocks listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange recorded sharp gains with 7 gaining more than 100 percent with the star performer being PZ Cussons, a company that manufactures and distributes soaps and electricals, rising 400 percent and Enterprise Group, a business development and management consultancy company, rising by 298 percent.

See chart for the listed stocks and their gains.

Filed Under: Global Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Economy, Ghana

Ghana Stock Exchange best African performer

July 8, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Report from www.myjoyonline.com | The Ghana Stock Exchange is the best performing market in Africa in terms of returns to investors for the first quarter of this year. That’s the conclusion of Databank’s quarterly market research, which ranks stock markets in Africa based on dollar returns to investors.
With a little over 45 percent return, the report ranked Ghana’s stock market as the best performer beating other markets like South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria.
In cedi terms, the Ghana Stock Exchange has returned nearly 53 percent to investors. This is far better than the 23 percent you would have earned if you had invested in Treasury bills or about the average 15 percent annum you would have realized on your bank deposit.
Vice President of Databank Financial Services, Reverend Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh explains to JOY-BUSINESS what must be accounting for this. “Just before the end of last year, we saw the market picking up and showing signs of beginning to have a good rally. So we expected and projected that we’re going to have a good rally this year driven especially by the financial stocks as evident in the valuation,” he said.
But what will this mean to retail investors and can the market sustain the performance?
“If the rally was not supported by the fundamentals, that’s when it would have been a source of worry because of the possible correction in the near future. If you monitor the full year 2012 results and even the Q1 results that have been released, it gives some support to the price rally seen on our markets. So if anything at all, the upward trend is likely to be sustained – maybe not at the same pace, but we still expect the market to inch up. For me, I would like to caution retail investors to know that investing in shares is a long-term play and so shouldn’t just be excited about the short term benefits but also get interested in the long term benefits.” he said.