News
GSE revokes licences of two companies
The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) has revoked the licences of Liberty Securities Limited (LSL) and First Atlantic Brokerage Limited (FABL).
According to the GSE, the decision to expel the two companies was due to the various infractions with respect to rules of operations on the exchange.
A press statement issued by the GSE said LSL and FABL would not be able to execute trades on the market, provide advisory services to clients on capital market issues, and hold in lien or in trust clients’ accounts or their security holdings, in accordance to Rule 78 of the GSE Dealing Membership Rules.
Rule 78 of the GSE Dealing Membership Rules requires a member of the Exchange to comply with the prevailing requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission in respect of capital, liquidity, reports and returns.
In the case of FABL, the regulator noted that, the company had operated without an Authorised Dealing Officer (ADO) for more than three months.
In addition, the company’s financial status showed a significant deterioration in its operations, resulting in successive negative returns which have eroded shareholders’ funds, the statement said.
The FABL is in breach of regulation 22 of the SEC Regulations, 2003 (L.I. 1728), which requires a Broker-Dealer to maintain at any given time, minimum liquid fund amounting to at least 20 per cent of the aggregate indebtedness of the Broker-Dealer, the statement added.
Similarly, LSL were found to be operating without an ADO for more than three months, contrary to Rule 6(j) of the GSE Dealing Membership Rules.
Moreover, they had low net shareholders’ fund balance and low liquidity position and had been inactive on the market due to the lack of ADO to execute trades.
For customers of the now defunct stock traders, the Exchange said procedures have been provided for them to transfer their security accounts and security holdings to any LDM of their choice.
The GSE had also provided a help desk or a correspondence officer to each LDM to respond to clients’ issues.
Source: Ghanaian Times
News
President Mahama meets Kantamanto traders
President John Dramani Mahama has reached out to traders affected by the recent fire at Kantamanto Market in Accra.
The President in a meeting with the traders today, January 12, 2025, acknowledged the heavy loss and assured them of his administration’s support.
He said “One of the first things we need to do is to prevent these outbreaks from happening. In some cases, it might be due to long wiring and the use of inferior materials.”
He continued to say,“But in some cases, we cannot rule out what we call arson, that is people deliberately setting fire to cause destruction.”
Recounting similar situations in the past, he said, “I remember it happened before in 2013, when I was sworn in as president,there were market fires in almost every market which was quite unusual, and in many cases, the investigations show that people deliberately set fire to just cause chaos and confusion.”
He therefore said, “We need to look at how to prevent it from happening again, how to alleviate their plight, and how the market should be rebuilt.”
“We held a meeting with the security heads today to see how we can tighten security around all the major markets to prevent any such occurrence,” he added.
The President in the meeting with the traders concluded by saying “Just this morning we heard about the Techiman market fire, so it looks like something which is going to continue and we need to take quick steps to address it. We are asking the Fire Service to deploy fire tenders close to where there are major markets at night and installation of CCTV cameras at various markets.”
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
News
E-levy will be scrapped immediately – Dr.Ato Forson
Minister for Finance Designate, Dr.Casiel Ato Forson has assured Ghanaians that the E-Levy introduced by the past government will be scrapped immediately.
According to him, his position on the E-Levy has not changed.
He said it should not always be about revenue, adding that there is also the need to look at expenditure.
The Minister for Finance Designate stressed that the tax had not produced the expected revenue and had instead burdened the sector without benefiting the broader economy.
Against this backdrop, Dr Forson also reiterated his strong stance on the controversial E-levy, saying his position on the matter had not changed.
“My position on the e-levy is well known. I have written articles about it, and my position has not changed,” he stated.
He raised concerns about the classification of the levy, calling it neither a direct nor an indirect tax. “I don’t know how to classify it,” he added, questioning its efficacy in the current fiscal system.
This notwithstanding, he said, the E-levy must go and will be scrapped immediately.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
