Domestic market ready but government cautious – SEC chair    

By Kingsley Webora TANKEH                                                                                                        

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Board Chairman Dr. Adu Anane Antwi has indicated there is a growing pool of pension funds which lack long-term investment options against the backdrop of decreasing Treasury bill rates.

Despite this, he indicated that government is probably studying market conditions for the optimal time to reintroduce long-term bonds.

Speaking at a stakeholder symposium organised by the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) in Accra, the market regulator argued that the huge volume of capital from pension schemes has created a ready market for new bonds.

“People are contributing to pension funds, and at present the only major investment outlet is Treasury bills. These, however, are short-term instruments, whereas pension funds are long-term. So, if a bond is offered at a higher rate than Treasury bills, why would a pension fund manager choose Treasury bills over bonds that yield a better return?”  Dr. Anane Antwi quizzed rhetorically.

The 364-day Treasury bill rate dropped to 11.4 percent for September 2025 from 28.04 percent in December last year. The 182-day Treasury bill stood at 11.6 percent at the end of September, while the 91-day Treasury bill is returning only 11.2 percent.

However, despite the growing appetite for long-term and higher return bonds, government remains cautious about an abrupt entry into the market.

Government failed to meet the August timeline set for issuing new bonds into the domestic market.

While government has stated categorically that it is “not in a hurry” to issue new bonds – considering the continuous drop in Treasury bill rates – Dr. Anane Antwi said any new bond offering will be patronised instantly when the decision is made.

Ghana reached a debt restructuring agreement with both Eurobond holders and domestic bondholders under the Domestic Debt Restructuring Programme (DDEP), but has yet to resume full debt repayment. It has committed to paying interest to the bondholders every six months. The last payment of US$349.52  million to Eurobond holders was made in July. This brings the total debt service to US$1.17billion since conclusion of the Eurobond debt restructuring last year.

Government also made a coupon payment of GH¢9.7billion to domestic bond holders in August, bringing total amount paid under the programme for the year to GH¢19.4billion.

Anticipating the major principal repayment due later in 2026 that will require “huge money”, Dr. Anane Antwi noted that re-entry into the domestic bond market would provide government with a reliable source of local funding for future debt management. “People understand that the situation is getting better. So for local, I think anytime they bring it to the bonds market the demand will be there.”

However, he kicked against accessing the international bond market until the country’s external debt restructuring is fully completed.

Dr. Anane Antwi noted that government’s hesitance may stem from what he termed “prudent debt management”. “They will be thinking, let’s wait and rather come in when we need that huge money to deal with the principal. When I’m going to pay the principal, I’ll come to the market with the bonds,” he explained.

With Treasury bill rates showing some volatility, he stated that government may be waiting for greater stability to ensure new bonds can be offered with an attractive premium over short-term rates. “If you are able to stabilise that, people will move there,” he added.

The symposium, themed ‘Resetting the Business Environment: The Role of Enterprise Risk’, gathered stakeholders from the business community, lawyers, regulators and financial and governance experts to explore ways of enhancing service delivery, ensuring regulatory compliance and positioning the ORC as an enabler of Ghana’s economic transformation agenda.

It provided an opportunity for dialogue on how institutions, businesses and regulators can collaborate to create a more resilient and enabling business environment in Ghana.

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