The Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange, Kofi Yamoah has justified the proposal for listed companies to have at least a hundred million shares. He says the decision is aimed at injecting some liquidity into trading of shares on the market especially because most investors prefer to hold on to their stocks rather than trade them. Listed companies will therefore need to begin making arrangements to artificially devalue their shares or ensure they number up to a hundred million. Standard Chartered Bank, which currently has the most prized stock, has already begun the process with a rights issue. Mr. Yamoah further told Joy Business, “essentially we are looking at it from the context of share trading, price discovery and liquidity as far as the listed companies are concerned.” He said some of the companies listed on the Accra bourse had issued shares that were significantly low – a situation he said “doesn’t allow for active trading.” He added that the move is already bearing fruit even as more companies prepare to comply. Source: Joy Business/Ghana