Asante Gold Corporation, an indigenous Ghanaian mining multinational company, has listed and began trading on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) to raise capital to finance its operations.
The secondary listing by introduction on the main market of the GSE on Wednesday followed approval from the GSE and Securities and Exchange Commission to commence trading.
The listing on the GSE would promote local ownership and allow Ghanaians to own shares in the company.
Investors could purchase the existing 315,007,462 common shares of the company valued at GH¢2, 793,158,565 at a price of GH¢8.87.
Black Star Advisors Limited and Black Star Brokerage Limited acted as Arranger and Sponsoring Broker respectively to Asante in respect of the Listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange.
The Executive Vice President and Country Director of Asante Gold Corporation, Mr Frederick Attakumah, said Asante Gold shares were traded in Canada and Germany.
He said the vision of the company was to become a Ghanaian tier-one mining company in West Africa.
“For Asante Gold, this is another chapter of our exciting story,” Mr Attakumah said.
“With almost 315 million shares issued, the company has a market capitalisation of US$420 million. Today, we are proud to announce that trading of Asante Gold shares has started at the GSE,” he said.
The Executive Vice President indicated that the listing had been a principal objective of our company, since it completed its Strategic Review in 2021.
“Asante Gold is the first large scale mining company with controlling Ghanaian ownership to list on the GSE. The listing also positions Asante Gold as one of the top five companies by market capitalisation on the GSE,” he said.
He said Asante Gold had been exploring for gold in Ghana since 2012 and had been working at several sites, including Kubi, Betenase and Fahiakoba, southwest of Kumasi.
“Following a Strategic Review conducted in March 2021, our vision was changed to become a Tier -1 mining company in West Africa, with Ghana as our principal base of operation.,” he said.
To reach this objective, the Executive Vice President said the company assembled a team of highly regarded mining professionals and executives with a track record of successful mine development and operations in Ghana and several other countries.
“With our intention to become Ghanaian Tier- 1 Gold Producer and consistent with this objective, we recently announced our intention to acquire Chirano Gold Mine. We expect to close this deal in the near term and when this happens, we will be on a trajectory to produce up to 400,000 oz gold per year,” Mr Attakumah, said.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Asante Gold Corporation, Dave Anthony, added, “Asante has significant ownership by both private Ghanaian investors and Ghanaian institutions, and the Company is excited to be able to offer Ghana’s investment community and all interested investors the opportunity to participate in our growth as we work to achieve our vision of becoming a Tier-1 gold producer in West Africa.”
In his remarks, Douglas Mac Quarrie, Non-Executive Chairman of the company stated,
“It is with a great sense of ‘having arrived’ that Asante is now listed on Ghana’s premier stock exchange, one of the best performing stock exchanges in Africa in 2021.”
“This listing complements our listings in Canada and in Germany and provides our Ghanaian shareholders, and potential new investors, the opportunity to invest and trade their shares locally in Ghana,” he said.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE
