The 2012 Budget with the theme “Infrastructural Development for Accelerated Growth and Job Creation” was described by the Majority in Parliament as the best ever but the Minority said it was a repetition of the past budget. The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor outlined in his speech, the plans for the Bond Market and that was what caught my attention.

Over the years, the capital market has been growing slowly and highly dominated by activities in the stock market. The bond market on the other hand is dominated by the Government bonds with very few corporate bonds. In order to ensure accelerated growth as predicted by the budget, the government plans to deepen the bond market. To ensure long term debt instruments, the government of Ghana would be issuing a 7-year and 10-year fixed rate bond next year. In addition, the government will set up a National Bond Market Committee in 2012 to undertake the tasks. Dr. Kwabena Duffour mentioned that, this Committee would be tasked to first of all, identify the constraints in the development of corporate bond market. Moreover, it would study and recommend legal, institutional and process changes needed to accelerate the development of a corporate bond market.

 The Minister further outlined that; this committee would monitor the performance of the government bond market and to improve its effectiveness as an anchor for the corporate bond market. In regards of deepening the bond market, this committee would finally assist the private sector to access the bond market by proposing appropriate financial/technical assistance mechanisms.

This move by the Government for the 2012 fiscal year is good for the bond market and the capital market as a whole.

We hope to see it manifest. Else………………….