Ghana to restructure capital market to spur growth

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IANS | 11 May, 2013
Ghana is ready to restructure its capital market to spur economic growth, Finance Minister Seth Terkper said here.

The restructuring is necessary for the West African country to meet international standards in its securities market regulations, Seth Terkper told Ghana's first-ever capital market conference Thursday.

Ghana's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will review the legislation that impedes a well-functioning securities market, Xinhua quoted Terkper as saying.

The finance minister stressed the importance of government efforts to give more financing options to businesses, as banks could only offer short-term credit at very high costs.

"A developed and well-regulated capital market that is linked to various sectors of the economy as a provider of long-term capital is a sine qua non to achieving the government's vision of shared growth and sustainable development," he said.

Ghana is also launching an alternative market to list smaller businesses.

"This new securities market is intended to fill the gap in the securities market with the aim of serving the needs of small- and medium- sized enterprises to have access to capital," SEC chief Adu Anane Antwi told the conference.

The finance minister also noted that a commodities exchange will be established to connect Ghana's agriculture sector to the capital markets.

In drafting the legal and regulatory framework of the exchange, the government is making sure that an efficient regime will be set up to boost the agriculture sector's entire value chain, Terkper said.