From Bloomberg

Ghanaian regulators are planning to introduce market making, set up live trading and start debt education programs in a bid to boost bond-market activity in West Africa’s second-biggest economy.

After last year’s merger of securities depositories by the central bank and stock exchange, bond trading is still illiquid because, unlike equities, there’s no electronic platform for debt, said Stephen Tetteh, chief executive officer of the Accra-based Central Securities Depository Ghana Ltd. As the unified storehouse works to integrate platforms, Tetteh said they’re asking the government to change laws to help increase trading.

“The Securities and Exchange Commission is working on market makers who go in just to bring liquidity onto the market,” Tetteh said in an interview on Jan. 29. “We have drawn programs to go out and do a lot of education to teach people what they can do with the bond market. Once we get that, then our market will bring that liquidity.”

Ghana’s plans to boost trading come as the government raises bond issuance this year to fund a budget deficit forecast by the Finance Ministry to narrow to 8.5 percent of gross domestic product this year from 10.2 percent in 2013. The world’s second-biggest cocoa producer will sell 35 percent more cedi debt this year and will offer a 10-year note, which will be the longest local-currency term, in June.

Written by Moses Mozart Dzawu/Read more at Bloomberg