It sold 122,937,718 ordinary shares with retail applicants acquiring about 98.77 per cent of the shares while the five institutional shareholders took about 1.23 per cent. “This is a very important occasion in the history of our Bank and the Government of Ghana as it highlights government’s effort to support the deepening and growth of the capital market,” Mr Daniel Asiedu, Managing Director of the adb, said at the listing on the floor of the Exchange.

Mr Asiedu said a healthy and well capitalised stock market was key to the growth of the economy as it helps in the mobilisation of needed capital to finance projects in the country. Besides, a well-capitalised market helps to boost investor confidence in the financial system and in the consolidation and promotion of growth of vital sectors of the economy and leads to the creation of the required jobs.

He said adb was confident that its participation on the market would help deepen the market and provide investors asset options to deploy their investible funds. Nana Soglo Alloh IV, Board Chairman, Agricultural Development Bank, said government views the financial services sector and particularly the Ghanaian stock market as an enabler of growth.

“The Ghanaian economy has been touted in the November 2016 edition of the Economist Intelligence Unit as a favourable investment destination. International investors are therefore making the most of this investment opportunity while more and more Ghanaian investors are also resorting to investing in the capital markets for a secure future,” he said.

The capital market, he said, had become a veritable source for mobilizing funds for growth boosting projects with retail investors also turning to the stock market to invest. Nana Soglo Alloh IV urged investors to buy ADB shares in saving for the future.

Mr Kofi Yamoah, the Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange, said the incoming government must be keen on creating the environment for companies such as those in the telecom, mining and the banking sectors to list.  He called on the sector regulators to encourage companies to list. Mr Yamoah also urged government to reconsider the imposition of a capital gains tax as it would make the GSE the only market in the region to be applying tax on listed securities, adding that the move would deal a competitive blow to the GSE.

Mr Raymond Amanfo, Head of Banking Supervision Bank of Ghana, said the Central Bank was working with the GSE to see how to fast track the listing of other banks. He described the listing of the bank as a very good step and urged the management to be focused and transparent in their dealings.

The bank’s shares ended trading at GHC3.35 cedis on Monday. Its initial offer price was GHC2.65. IC Securities (Ghana) Limited acted as Sole Financial Advisor and Lead Sponsoring Broker in respect of the ADB IPO.