The Member of Parliament for Tano North, Dr. Gideon Boako, has asserted that Ghana’s bond market remains accessible to the government but has become unattractive to investors due to policy decisions and market dynamics.
His remarks come in response to Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson’s recent budget presentation, where the government announced plans to cautiously reopen the domestic bond market to extend the maturity profile and establish large-sized benchmark bonds to enhance liquidity.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Thursday, March 13, 2025, Dr. Boako refuted claims that the bond market was entirely closed to the government. Instead, he argued that the lack of investor interest is a direct result of the government’s approach and messaging, which have discouraged participation.
He accused the government of deliberately pushing investors toward short-term Treasury Bills (T-Bills) to create an artificial impression of economic confidence. This, he claimed, has resulted in oversubscription of T-Bills and a subsequent reduction in T-Bill rates to 19%, which he argues does not reflect genuine market confidence.
“It is not true that the bond market is closed on government. There is still an active bond market that the government can enter into if it wants to raise funds from the bond market. It is their own doing and words that are making the long end of the market attractive to investors.
“A day after the finance minister read the budget, Bloomberg reported that investors reacted negatively to Ghanaian bonds and that after the finance minister’s budget, Ghana’s bond began to trade to the bottom.
“It is their own words that are giving them away. There is an active bond market even in this country. The finance minister has deliberately siphoned the active bond market because he wants to push every investor to the short end of the yield curve, which is the T-Bill market, and create an impression that the T-Bills that the government issues are overly subscribed and that is an indication of confidence in the economy.
“By so doing, artificially bring down the T-bill rate to the 19% we are seeing. So, the bond market is not attractive to the investors.
“If they organise themselves well, and put things right, they will begin to see greater participation in the bond market,” he stated
Source: Citinewsroom