Seven viable but cash-strapped State-Owned Enterprises are to be listed on the Stock Exchange to raise capital to finance their business operations.
Deputy Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), Ms Abena Amoah, who stated this in Accra on Tuesday in an interaction with the media, said the companies would issue their Initial Public Offers (IPOs) before the end of the year.
The interaction dubbed ‘GSE MDs Breakfast with the media,’ was to brief reporters of the performance of the GSE for 2021 and outlook for 2022.
Ms Amoah said the GSE and State Interest and Governance Authority as part of efforts to list viable SoEs on the GSE set up a Technical and Steering committee to look into and review the books of 30 SoEs.
She said after the review 18 companies were picked and eventually seven were picked to be listed on the GSE.
According to MsAmoah GSE and SIGA had completed a paper on the seven companies and submitted to the Ministry of Finance for approval for the companies to be listed on the GSE.
The GSE did not name the seven companies to be listed on the Accra bourse when asked by the media.
Ms Amoah said GCB PLC, GOIL which until their listing on the GSE were solely SoEs, were doing well and other SoEs could follow the steps of the two companies to attract private capital into their businesses.
Financial and operational reviews conducted by SIGA on SoEs revealed that some of the SoEs were reeling under serious capital challenges and need fresh capital injection to put them on a sound financial footing.
The Deputy Managing Director of the GSE further said her outfit was engaging private associations for their companies to list on the GSE.
For instance, she said the GSE was engaging Stanford Seed Transformation Network Ghana, a business group which has more than 140 members, to get their members to list on the GSE.
“Currently, we are working with five companies under the Stanford Seed Transformation Network Ghana to help them list on the Accra bourse,” she said.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE
