The Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange, Ekow Afedzie has been appointed Co-Chair of the Africa Regional Committee of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) with sole responsibility over the West African Sub-Committee.

The appointment was formalized with the introduction of Mr. Afedzie to members of the prestigious Committee of Regional Representatives (CRR) at its meeting on December 10, 2020.

The GSE became a full member of the International Capital Market Association in January 2020 joining the Bank of Ghana and the Central Securities Depository to bring ICMA membership in Ghana to three.

Membership of the ICMA West Africa Sub-Committee include Ghana Stock Exchange, Bank of Ghana, Central Securities Depository, FMDQ Holdings Plc, Nigeria, African Export Import Bank, African Finance Corporation, Nigeria, Front Clear and a Secretariat provided by ICMA.

The FMDQ Holdings of Nigeria was appointed Vice-Chair of the committee.

ICMA is the trade association for the international capital market with over 600 member firms from more than 60 countries, including banks, issuers, asset managers, infrastructure providers and law firms.

It performs a crucial central role in the market by providing industry-driven standards and recommendations for issuance, trading and settlement in international fixed income and related instruments.

Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Afedzie GSE said: “this appointment is significant and marks the maturity of Ghana’s Bond market – the Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM). Being members of ICMA will enable the GFIM tap into the rich resources of the association to continually improve performance and its relevance in Ghana, Africa and the world at large”.

He noted that within the few years of its establishment, the GFIM has been ranked fourth in size for issued sovereign debt in sub Saharan Africa by Bloomberg.

Martin Scheck, Chief Executive of ICMA also noted: “we are delighted to welcome Ekow Afedzie as Co-Chair of the Africa Committee. This is one of our fastest growing regions where there is enormous potential for capital markets to deliver economic growth to benefit all its citizens and I look forward to working with him as we take forward the excellent work of this committee.”

Established thirty years ago, the Ghana Stock Exchange has played a significant role in the country’s economic growth.

It was established with the mission to be a relevant, significant, efficient and effective tool for capital mobilization and wealth creation.