Ghana's fixed-income market turnover surged by 31.64% to GHS 8.98 billion in the week ending October 9. This substantial increase was largely due to heightened trading in Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) bonds and Treasury bills.
The market's total turnover rose from GHS 6.82 billion the previous week, marking a GHS 2.16 billion increase. This growth signals improving liquidity in the secondary market at the start of the fourth quarter. Investors actively repositioned across government securities, balancing short-term liquidity needs with longer-term investment opportunities.
This development is crucial for Ghana's economic recovery following its domestic debt restructuring. The DDEP, completed earlier this year, aimed to make the nation's debt sustainable. Renewed investor interest in DDEP bonds suggests a gradual return of confidence in Ghana's public finances and its ability to manage its debt obligations. This trend is vital for the government's future borrowing costs and overall market stability.
The Norvan Reports highlighted that DDEP bonds generated GHS 4 billion in turnover, representing 44.49% of total activity. Treasury bills accounted for GHS 4.19 billion, or 46.67% of the market. Together, these two instrument classes comprised over 91% of all transactions during the week, underscoring their dominance in Ghana's fixed-income landscape.
The increased trading in DDEP bonds, which grew by 44.77% week-on-week, is particularly significant. This growth contributed approximately 57.25% to the overall GHS 2.16 billion rise in market turnover. This indicates that longer-dated restructured securities are becoming a principal engine of market expansion, moving beyond mere rollover of short-term Treasury positions. While Treasury bills remain the largest single component, their market share slightly decreased from 53.34% to 46.67%, as DDEP bonds expanded more rapidly. This shift suggests a modest but important rebalancing of investor preference towards selected medium- and long-term bonds, moving away from an almost exclusive reliance on short-dated instruments. This rebalancing is a positive indicator for the long-term health of Ghana's debt market. It shows that the secondary market for government bonds is gradually rebuilding liquidity and establishing reliable pricing points after the challenges posed by the domestic debt restructuring. The ability to trade these bonds effectively is key to attracting and retaining investors. Furthermore, trading excluding sell-buy-back transactions rose by 29.43% to GHS 8.30 billion, confirming that the expansion was driven by outright securities activity, not just short-term funding. Stronger sell-buy-back activity, which increased by 66.10% to GHS 684.12 million, also signals growing use of government securities for liquidity management by market participants. This allows dealers and institutional investors to finance their holdings without immediately selling them, further supporting broader fixed-income liquidity. The market's ability to absorb and trade these instruments efficiently is a critical component of financial market development and stability. This trend will be closely watched by the Bank of Ghana and the Ministry of Finance as they continue to manage the nation's economic recovery and fiscal consolidation efforts.