The 2012 Budget with the theme “Infrastructural
Development for Accelerated Growth and Job Creation” was described by the
Majority in Parliament as the best ever but the Minority said it was a
repetition of the past budget. The Minister for Finance and
Economic Planning, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor outlined in his speech, the plans for
the Bond Market and that was what caught my attention.
Over the years, the capital market has been growing slowly
and highly dominated by activities in the stock market. The bond market on
the other hand is dominated by the Government bonds with very few corporate
bonds. In order to ensure accelerated growth as predicted by the
budget, the government plans to deepen the bond market. To ensure long term
debt instruments, the government of Ghana would be issuing a 7-year and 10-year
fixed rate bond next year. In addition, the government will set up a National
Bond Market Committee in 2012 to undertake the tasks. Dr. Kwabena Duffour
mentioned that, this Committee would be tasked to first of all, identify the
constraints in the development of corporate bond market. Moreover, it would study
and recommend legal, institutional and process changes needed to accelerate the
development of a corporate bond market.
The Minister further
outlined that; this committee would monitor the performance of the government
bond market and to improve its effectiveness as an anchor for the corporate
bond market. In regards of deepening the bond market, this committee would
finally assist the private sector to access the bond market by proposing
appropriate financial/technical assistance mechanisms.
This move by the Government for the 2012 fiscal year is good
for the bond market and the capital market as a whole.
We hope to see it manifest. Else......................
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