By Toma Imirhe
Market operators say a pipeline of commercial paper issuances — particularly in agribusiness, telecommunications and manufacturing — is being prepared, although many issuers are proceeding cautiously as the market builds depth.
Ghana’s nascent but fast-evolving regulated commercial paper (CP) market is beginning to gather momentum, with a handful of corporate issuers testing investor appetite and setting early benchmarks for pricing, tenor and subscription dynamics.
The market, formally launched in 2024 by the Ghana Stock Exchange under its Commercial Paper Issuance and Admission Rules, is designed to provide companies with an alternative source of short-term funding while offering institutional investors new yield opportunities.
The most prominent issuance to date has come from Federated Commodities PLC (FedCo), which in April 2025 raised GH¢72.5 million as the first tranche of a GH¢200 million programme on the Ghana Fixed Income Market.
Market sources indicate that the programme was structured as a rolling issuance, with short-term tenors typical of CP instruments — generally between 15 and 270 days — and priced at a discount to face value, in line with global practice.
Subscription levels for the FedCo issuance were described by market participants as “encouraging,” with strong participation from pension funds, asset managers and high-net-worth investors seeking higher returns than Treasury bills amid falling policy rates.
“This is more than a financial milestone — it’s a statement of faith in Ghana’s capital markets,” said Maria Adamu-Zibo, FedCo’s CEO, at the time of issuance.
Terms, timelines and investor appetite
Under the GSE framework, CP can be issued either as standalone notes or under programmes that allow repeated drawdowns once documentation is in place. Typical issuance timelines range from a few days to a few weeks, depending on regulatory approvals and book-building.
Market insiders note that most issuances so far have been short-dated (90–180 days) to match investor preference for liquidity, especially in the wake of Ghana’s recent domestic debt restructuring.
“Investors are still very sensitive to duration risk,” said a fixed-income analyst at a leading Accra-based investment firm. “Short tenors and strong issuer credit profiles are what is driving subscription right now.”
The regulated structure also imposes disclosure, rating and sponsorship requirements, which are expected to enhance transparency and investor confidence compared to the previously informal CP market.
What is driving the market?
Several factors are underpinning the gradual growth of Ghana’s CP market.
First is the post-Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) environment, which has reshaped investor behaviour. Institutional investors, particularly pension funds, are actively seeking diversified, short-term instruments after heavy exposure to government securities.
Second is the cost of bank lending, which remains relatively high despite recent monetary easing. Commercial paper offers corporates a potentially cheaper funding alternative, with rates determined by market demand rather than bank pricing.
Third is the push by regulators to deepen capital markets under Ghana’s Capital Market Master Plan. A vibrant CP market is expected to improve liquidity and serve as a benchmark for corporate interest rates.
“Corporate issuers now have access to a wider pool of capital beyond traditional bank loans,” said an Accra-based capital markets lawyer. “That is a structural shift that will take time but is clearly underway.”
From informal to regulated market
Commercial paper is not entirely new to Ghana. The instrument has existed for years in private, largely unregulated bilateral arrangements between corporates and institutional investors.
However, the absence of a formal trading and disclosure framework limited liquidity and transparency, leaving Treasury bills to dominate the short-term money market.
The turning point came in 2024 when the GSE introduced dedicated CP rules, creating a regulated platform for issuance and secondary trading.
This followed earlier steps, including the Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2012 guidelines recognising CP as an eligible investment asset class.
Despite its promise, the market remains in its infancy. Analysts point to challenges including limited issuer awareness, the need for strong credit ratings, and the still-developing investor base.
Yet sentiment remains broadly positive. Importantly, SEC, last year, licensed two credit ratings agencies – Agusto & Company from Nigeria and the Ghanaian indigenously owned Beacon – both of them mandated to assign ratings to aspiring capital market issuances in the country.
“The fundamentals are right,” said one portfolio manager. “As confidence returns to the financial system and more corporates come to market, we expect issuance volumes to pick up significantly over the next 12 to 24 months.”
For now, Ghana’s regulated commercial paper market is taking measured but important steps — laying the groundwork for what could become a critical pillar of the country’s short-term financing ecosystem.
