Analysis of factors affecting the development of an emerging capital market: The case of the Ghana stock market

The study looks at the institutional factors affecting the development of the Ghana stock market. Additionally, the study analyses the impact of the listing of Ashanti Goldfields corporation on the development of the Ghana stock market. The study establishes that the institutional factors particularly the legal and regulatory framework that ensure the protection and security of investors are in place, and that the call-over system of transactions is very transparent. The study also finds that the delivery and settlement of transactions are performed satisfactorily by brokers, however the introduction of a centralized clearing system would significantly improve upon the clearing and settlement procedures. The study further establishes that the entry into and exit from the GSE are without any significant restrictions. Analysis of the structure of the GSE shows among others that many of the local investors can be described as low income investors. A sizeable percentage has no formal education and the knowledge of local investors about the capital market is quite poor. Foreign investors have come from Europe, America, the Far East etc. With the exception of Nigeria, no foreign investors on the GSE have come from sub-Saharan Africa. Using the law of one price and the random walk test, the study establishes that the GSE is "weak-form" inefficient. Additionally, the study finds that the listing of AGC has had tremendous impact on the GSE in many ways including improving market liquidity and market turnover. The study recommends a campaign to educate the Ghanaian public about the activities of the GSE and to promote investment in general. There is need for the government to give fiscal incentives in the form of taxation in favour of listed companies, and to pursue prudent macroeconomic policies, particularly in the area of inflation management. A regular review of the legal and regulatory framework within which the investment laws operate is necessary to boost the confidence of investors.