KEY HEADLINES & INSIGHTS

MTN Ghana is restructuring its mobile money business to meet a Bank of Ghana requirement mandating at least 30% Ghanaian ownership for electronic money issuers. To comply, it will dissolve MobileMoney Ltd and transfer its assets to a new local entity, New FinCo, with a 32.13% stake held in trust for Ghanaian shareholders and plans for a future stock exchange listing.

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has expressed confidence in the sustained stability of the Ghanaian cedi, following its significant appreciation of nearly 19% between April and May 2025. (Bank of Ghana, 2025)

Ghana’s newly established Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD) says it is targeting up to $12 billion annually in gold revenue starting next year, as it moves to double small-scale gold production and formalise artisanal mining operations across the country. (Daily Graphic, 2025)

Ghana Gold Coin Pricing Update: 1 oz Now Selling at GH₵39,830.77 with 0.50 oz at GH₵20,271.01 and 0.25 oz at GH₵10,514.85 as of 23rd May 2025. (Bank of Ghana, 2025)

PRIMARY DEBT MARKET ISSUANCE WEEK

Yields on Government of Ghana (GoG) treasury bills saw a slight decline across all tenors last week. The 91-day bill fell by 18 basis points to 14.93%, indicating relative stability in short-term borrowing costs. Similarly, the 182-day and 364-day bills dropped by 13 and 79 basis points, respectively, closing at 15.55% and 16.00%. This decline reflects a moderation in GoG’s borrowing costs amid ongoing macroeconomic reforms.

Source(s): Bank of Ghana

GHANA FIXED INCOME MARKET VOLUME TRADED

The Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM) recorded a total trading volume of GH₵4.16 billion at the week's close, reflecting a decline from the GH₵3.77 billion reported in the previous week. The total number of transactions recorded was 6,447, with Treasury bills dominating the market and accounting for 95.91% of the trades. Meanwhile, New Government of Ghana (GoG) Notes and Bonds contributed 3.15% to the total trading activity.

The fixed income market opened the week on a strong note, recording a turnover of GH₵860.9 million, driven by robust investor demand for Treasury Bills and newly issued Government of Ghana (GoG) Notes and Bonds. This indicates increasing interest in short- to medium-term maturities as investors pursue yield optimization strategies.

Market liquidity peaked at GH₵1,183.9 million on May 20, reflecting high participation. However, activity tapered off to GH₵781.3 million on May 21, with trading focused mainly on Treasury securities and recent GoG issuances. Turnover rebounded slightly to GH₵832 million on May 22 before declining sharply to GH₵503.5 million by May 23, signaling a dip in market momentum

Week's Yield Curve

EQUITY MARKET

Trading activity on the local stock exchange turned bearish this week, with total share volume plunging by 90% to 2,318,985 shares, down from 23,758,579 shares the previous week. The total traded value also declined sharply by 83%, settling at GH₵17.82 million compared to GH₵102.57 million last week, reflecting a drop in high-value transactions. Market capitalization posted a weekly loss, closing at GH₵139.30 billion, down from GH₵143.71 billion.

Regarding market indices, the GSE Composite Index (GSE-CI) closed at 6,353.54 showing a 5.28% week-on-week loss, a 4.23% monthly gain, but a substantial year-to-date gain of 29.97%.

Moreover, the GSE Financial Stocks Index (GSE-FSI) also increased to 3,175.26 points, making it a weekly gain of 0.21%, a monthly gain of 2.03%, and a year-to-date gain of 33.37%.

Week's Equities Top Gainers & Laggards

EQUITY MARKET MOST TRADED STOCKS

Source(s): Ghana Stock Exchange

TOP PERFORMING AFRICAN STOCK INDICES YEAR-TO-DATE

Source(s): African Markets

COMMODITY MARKET

This week, the commodities market posted mixed performance, driven by notable price fluctuations. Gold prices declined from $3,182 to $3,363.60 per troy ounce week-on-week (w/w). The precious metal posted a 5.7% weekly gain.

Meanwhile, Brent crude oil futures posted a 0.96% weekly gain loss declining from $65.41 to $64.78 per barrel, pressured by expectations of another OPEC+ production increase. The group is expected to add 411,000 barrels per day in July, with discussions next week likely confirming the move.

Cocoa futures inched this week, declining to $9,764 per ton from last week’s $10,898. This decline represents a weekly loss of 10.41%, their lowest in over a week and down from recent 3-1/2-month highs of $10,932 per tonne, on some profit-taking and amid expectations for favorable rain in West Africa.

Source(s): Yahoo Finance, Trading Economics

CURRENCY MARKET

The Ghanaian cedi strengthened significantly against major foreign currencies over the past week. The USD/GHS rate fell from 12.32 to 10.95 (an 11.1% gain), EUR/GHS dropped from 13.72 to 12.41 (9.5% gain), and GBP/GHS declined from 16.33 to 14.78 (9.5% gain). This broad appreciation suggests improving investor confidence and may help ease import-driven inflation in the near term.

Source(s): Bank of Ghana