The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) has urged the government to introduce fiscal incentives and implement structural reforms to deepen liquidity in the nation’s capital market and attract long-term investors, as the fixed-income sector rebounds from the 2023 debt exchange programme.
Speaking at the 10th anniversary of the Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM) in Accra, GSE Managing Director Abena Amoah highlighted the market’s strong recovery while stressing the need for policy support to sustain growth. She called for the listing of viable state-owned enterprises (SOEs), restoration of tax incentives, and promotion of corporate debt issuance to broaden investment opportunities.
“The Ghana Stock Exchange has been among Africa’s best-performing exchanges over the past two years. But to soar higher, we need the right support – from policymakers, regulators, and market participants,” Amoah said. She urged Cabinet to approve SOE listings to raise capital and strengthen corporate governance, and recommended reviewing the capital gains tax on listed securities back to zero to attract more investors. She also called for incentives to encourage multinationals to localise ownership via the exchange and for bond-backed public-private partnerships and municipal bond issuances to finance infrastructure.
Amoah outlined the GFIM’s vision for the next decade, focusing on product innovation, technology integration, greater retail participation, and positioning Ghana as West Africa’s fixed-income hub. The exchange aims to increase individual securities account holders from 2 million to 10 million and expand corporate debt issuers from 14 to over 100 through technological and market reforms.
Since its establishment in 2015, the GFIM has become one of sub-Saharan Africa’s most transparent and liquid bond markets. Trading volumes rose from GH¢5.2 billion at inception to GH¢230 billion in 2022, before falling sharply to GH¢98 billion in 2023 amid the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme. By October 2025, volumes had rebounded to GH¢214 billion, signalling renewed investor confidence.
“This is not just recovery; it is a testament to the strength of our foundations and the trust our stakeholders continue to place in this market,” Amoah said. She noted that every GFIM transaction supports Ghana’s broader development agenda, financing projects ranging from roads and factories to education and healthcare.
Bank of Ghana Governor Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama also addressed the anniversary, describing the fixed-income market as a “bridge between savings and investment.” He noted that cumulative trading on GFIM has now surpassed GH¢1.2 trillion in its first decade and credited improved macroeconomic indicators for the market’s rebound, including a drop in inflation from 54% to 8%, a 35% year-to-date appreciation of the cedi, and foreign reserves covering nearly five months of imports.
Dr. Asiama cautioned that the market still shows structural gaps, with government securities dominating activity while corporate issuance remains limited. He encouraged greater market depth and diversity through operationalising repurchase agreements and securities-lending frameworks to enhance liquidity.
“Our issuer base must widen. So far, corporates have raised about GH¢24 billion through GFIM – a commendable start, but from only a handful of issuers,” he said. He added that pension funds, currently holding over GH¢90 billion in GFIM assets, represent patient capital that can be channelled into productive projects through credit-enhancement tools and guarantees. He also highlighted GSE plans to launch an academy to prepare companies and boards for market access, moving “market deepening from plan to practice.”
Dr. Asiama outlined the Bank of Ghana’s commitment to building a fully digital bond ecosystem linking GFIM with the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement System (GhIPSS) and the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) platform for straight-through processing. “If trading volumes can rebound by over GH¢100 billion within two years after a crisis, then a deeper, more digital, and more diversified market is not an ambition – it is our next logical step,” he said.
Both GSE and the central bank reaffirmed Ghana’s ambition to become a regional benchmark for transparency and innovation under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework. Amoah concluded, “With the right fiscal incentives, Ghana’s capital market can truly become the market for capital – the engine that powers the country’s transformation.”
