Access Bank Ghana has officially listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), becoming the 11th bank on the Accra bourse.
The Bank also becomes the first Nigerian bank operating in Ghana to list on the GSE.
It would be recalled that the Bank in October this year launched an Initial Public Offer (IPO) to raise some GH₵104 million to support its growth and expansion strategies.
However, after completing the IPO, the Bank raise GH₵29.62 million, above the GH₵21 million regulatory requirement to list on Ghana’s stock market.
At a ceremony to officially list the Bank on the GSE, Managing Director of the GSE, Kofi Yamoah congratulated Access Bank for resorting to the Ghanaian stock market to raise capital.
“We thank Access Bank for joining us on the stock exchange. I congratulate you for becoming a listed company,” he said.
He added that the listing of Access Bank Ghana on the stock market has increased the GSE’s market capitalisation by some GH₵500 million.
Mr Yamoah, however, urged Access Bank to strictly apply the offer proceeds from the IPO to the purposes it was intended for.
Managing Director of Access Bank Ghana, Dolapo Ogundimu said he was humbled by the success of the Bank’s IPO which he attributed to the recognition of its customers and to the strong support of regulators, and business partners.
“This intention [to list on the GSE] has indeed always been on the table for us. We have been clear in our mind that to rank amongst the top tier banks in Ghana within the next few years, then it was important to make our banking franchise more indigenous. And certainly, this involved setting new standards and being more inclusive in ownership,”
Access Bank Ghana offloaded some 25% of its stake to Ghanaian investors following the IPO. The new ownership structure of the Bank is Access Bank Plc., the parent company of Access Bank Ghana based in Nigeria, having 75%; Ghanaian pension fund owning 10% while the remaining 15% is owned by other institutions and individuals.
According to Mr Ogundimu, Access Bank Ghana intends to replicate on the GSE the performance of its parent company on the Nigeria Stock Exchange.
“As Access Bank Group, our experience on the capital market dates as far back as 1998, when our parent company – Access Bank Plc. listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange. The Access Bank stock has performed creditably and is today one of the most traded stocks on the Nigerian bourse,” he noted, adding, “We intend to replicate this performance here on the Ghana Stock Exchange.”
Share price of the equity had jumped by 10 pesewas to GH₵4.10 on the first day of trading on the GSE, on Wednesday December 21, 2016. At the launch of the IPO a share was GH₵4.00 and investors were required to purchase a minimum of one hundred shares.
Access Bank’s listing brings to 41 the number of listed equities on the local bourse.
The Finder