Planning Commission and Stock Exchange to Strengthen Role of Capital Markets in National Development
The National Development Planning Commission and the Ghana Stock Exchange will work together to strengthen the Exchange’s role in national development, the Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Nii Moi Thompson, has said.
Dr Thompson, who doubles as the senior advisor to President Mahama on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), made the observation during a courtesy call on the managing director of the Exchange, Ms Abena Amoah, in Accra.
He said besides helping private investors to mobilise billions of cedis for businesses and infrastructure development, deepening and expanding the activities of the Exchange would also give Ghanaians a greater stake in the economy through ownership in various companies.
“Currently, we remain tenants on our own land, as the largest and most lucrative parts of the economy are dominated by non-Ghanaians,” he observed, stating that foreign investors should be given the incentives to partner Ghanaians, while policy is strengthened for the purposeful transfer of world-class technology and management practices to strengthen the Ghanaian private sector.
He disclosed that the Commission had begun a research programme on Finance, Insurance and Real Estate (FIRE) to gain greater insights into their potential to stimulate national development, using such insights to advise the government on its policy choices about the sectors.
On her part, Ms. Amoah, who was accompanied by the Exchange’s head of strategy, Mrs. Diane Okine, noted that capital markets are crucial to mobilising private finance for economic development, including infrastructure provision. She said lack of well-structured investment opportunities in Ghana has forced many Ghanaians to invest billions of dollars annually in various investment schemes abroad.
Ms. Amoah pledged to deepen collaboration with the NDPC by supporting its policy research agenda with the relevant data and involving the Commission in as many of its programmes as possible.
