The Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange(GSE), Kofi Yamoah has disclosed that the bourse is showing positive performances in the first half of the year.
This comes at the back of a negative performance in the past two years as listed companies posted negative results due to high inflation, high interest rates as well as the power crisis.
Speaking to Citi Business News, Mr. Yamoah pointed out that the performance is being fueled by the banking sector.
“We are have seen it being enforced by the fact that a number of the companies that drive the index are performing very, particularly the financial services,” he said.
“The exchange itself has a cycle of three years. So 2014 was positive but very small, 2015, 2016 being negative, we knew that the cycle for 2017 will definitely be a positive issue,” he added.
Outlining some more challenges that hit the market in the past two years, Mr. Yamoah stated that the macroeconomic figures were not aiding listed companies as inflation and interest rates went up.
“In the past few years the country has gone through a number of difficulties, essentially the macroeconomic side of the issue; inflation, interest rates, exchange rates. Starting from the middle of 2016 thereabout, we saw a decline in some of these indications, inflation, interest rates are all trending downwards,” he said.
He was of the view that the coming into office of the Akufo-Addo government also created some enthusiasm among investors.
“I would add that the excitement of the new government is also a contributor. We have the euphoria of a new government being sworn in,” he observed.
