Daily Graphic

GSE Tops Again



The Daily Graphic reports that the International Federation of Stock Exchange (FIBV) adjudged the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) as the best stock market for 1998 among the 45 emerging stock markets in the developing world. Similarly, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has rated GSE as one of the world?s best performing stock markets. The GSE also topped the IFC?s frontier equity market in local terms.

Mr Yeboa Amoa, managing director of the GSE is reported as disclosing this when he interacted with the media in Accra yesterday shortly after the GSE?s ninth annual general meeting. He said the impressive performance of the GSE in 1998 has been recognised worldwide. The Standard Bank Group of South Africa was the first to recognise the splendid performance of GSE when it conferred on the exchange the best performing market in Africa recently.

The GSE?s total market capitalisation rose by 27% from ?2.55 trillion at the end of 1997 to ?3.25 trillion by the end of 1998.

The report says even though turnover volume was reduced from 125.6 million to 91.5 million shares, value traded increased by 44 per cent from ?93 billion to ?134 billion in 1998. The GSE-all-share Index was up b 67.7 per cent against 41.9 per cent in 1997.

Mr. Yeboa Amoa who was said to be commenting on the current drop in turnover volume and values explained that apart from the reduction in the patronage of foreign institutional investors, all the essential factors that caused the capital appreciation in the market have not changed.

As at June 21 this year, the GSE All Share Index had dropped by 8.82 per cent while market capitalisation had increased by 1.24 per cent.

The Daily Graphic says Mr Yeboa Amoa noted that as the macro economic fundamentals are beginning to assume their right perspective, there is a need to bridge the gap between inflation and interest rates as this will impact positively on the activities of the market.