DDEP badly hit our members – GNCCI
The Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) has disclosed that the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) has had a negative impact on its members.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber, Mark Badu-Aboagye, most of its members were highly exposed to government bonds.
He stated that research conducted also revealed that about 50 per cent of the total assets of banks were invested in government bonds.
Speaking on Joy Business’ Thought Leadership Series on the theme: Debt Exchange and IMF Deal, A Do or Die Affair in Accra on Thursday, Mr Badu-Aboagye maintained that members of the chamber could face serious challenges in reinvesting into their companies.
“It’s been very severe because the private sector is highly exposed to government bonds. The individual bondholders, most of them are business owners that have also invested in government bonds and seeking to get their capital reimbursed into their businesses. So by and large, we have suffered from this DDEP”.
He added that most banks and insurance companies invest the majority of their capital into government bonds rather than lending to the private sector, which will ultimately develop the real sector of the economy.
“The private sector is severely exposed to the DDEP. Banks and insurance companies are all private organisations, and you take a bank that has to acquire a bond of 9 billion and give the private sector 4 billion. How do you expect the economy to grow”?, he quizzed.
