The Securities and Exchange Commission has unveiled a new 10-year capital market ‘Masterplan’, aimed at diversifying the capital market as well as boosting economic growth.
The strategic plan is intended to help raise enough capital for key infrastructural projects in order to meet the country’s growth agenda.
This is the maiden master plan for the capital market since the establishment of the Securities and Exchange Commission many years ago.
This is expected to serve as a blueprint for developing the market in Ghana over the next 10 years.
The Director-General (DG) of the SEC, Rev. Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh further emphasized on the importance of the capital market as the place for raising ‘patient capital’ which is critical for financing growth.
He highlighted the benefits of the Capital Market for different stakeholders. For example- for the ordinary citizen, it would enable the creation of jobs as businesses would be able to raise capital; for business owners, it would also facilitate the expansion of business and create a viable avenue for investors to deploy surplus funds. He surmised that the Capital Market would be critical to the growth aspirations of Ghana.
The ten-year CMMP would be engine to facilitate this important transformation through the key initiatives spelt out in the document.
Deputy Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Paul Ababio highlighting some of the expectations for the Masterplan noted that the implementation of the plan has begun since 2020.
He noted that market capitalization of Fund Management Firms, among other firms will be increased by more than 50%.
“We want to have additional products as part of our mandate at the Securities and Exchange Commission. We have to build capacity, deepen it and develop it as part of the plan. And we are certain that the medium term will be a good period for us” he said.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has described the launch of the Masterplan as timely and critical to the post covid-19 economic recovery.
According to him, this will play a key role in the operations of the soon to be launched National Development Bank.
“The launch and implementation of the Masterplan initiatives have come very timely and it’s very critical to the recovery of the economy especially under the Ghana CARES Obaatampa programme”
“Undeniably, these initiatives will position Ghana’s capital market as a ready access to cheaper finance option to businesses, boosting production and services and making businesses more productive. The ripple effect on the creation of more jobs, higher standards of living, increase in savings and investments and poverty reduction cannot be overemphasized,” he said.
The cleanup of the capital market is part of the first phase of the whole Masterplan implementation.