Only three out of 36 listed firms on Ghana’s Stock Exchange have since January 2016 registered growth in their share prices, The Business Finder reports.

The market capitalisation of the 36 listed firms on the main market has also shrunk from GH¢57.1 million as at January 1, 2016, to GH¢53.1 million as at Friday Septem­ber 16, 2016.

Market watchers say the development is attributable to the economic difficulties of the country.

The unbridled borrowing by the government has also in­creased investor appetite for short-term securities, thereby depriving the Accra bourse of investor interest.

Fanmilk, GCB Bank and SIC are the only companies that had increased their share prices and subsequently boosted their market capital­ization as at September 16, 2016.

They have since the be­ginning of this year regis­tered 32.65,4.49 and 3.14 per cent increase in their market price to trade at GH¢9.75, GH¢3.97 and 15 pesewas per share respectively.

Their market capitaliza­tion stands at GH¢1.13 bil­lion, GH¢1.04 billion and G! 1029.35 million.

Standard Chartered Bank preference shares also recorded some growth in its market price.

Eight out of the 11 finan­cial stocks listed on (GSE) all registered negative re­turns thus losing millions of Ghana cedis in value since the beginning of the year.

Camelot, AngloGold Ashanti, Clydestone, Golden Web, Mechanical Lloyd, Pi­oneer Kitchenware, Sam Woode, Transaction Solu­tions and Societe Generale all registered no changes in their share prices.

UT Bank was the biggest loser on the Accra bourse as at Friday, September 16, with an annual return of 60.0 per cent and a market capitaliza­tion of GH¢13.6 million fol­lowed by Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), parent bank of Ecobank Ghana with a year- to-date of 40.74 percent and a market capitalisation of GH¢3.6 billion.

CAL Bank followed with an annual return of-22.0 per­cent and a market capitaliza­tion of'GH¢411 million.

Ecobank Ghana, HFC, Stanchart, The Trust Bank Gambia and Enterprise Ghana all recorded negative returns at the end of trading on Friday, September 16, 2016.

Their annual returns stood at 1.85 percent, 11.11 per­cent, 12.88 percent, 18.92 percent and 1.67 percent re­spectively. Their market cap­italisations have also gone down drastically.

In the manufacturing sec­tor, firms such as Guinness Ghana Breweries, Aluworks and Unilever lost market val­ues. They lost 10.05, 7.14 and 0.24 percent respectively in their share price.

Mining and oil firms, Golden Star Resources and Tullow Oil have also not been left out of the problem. They have lost 2.01 and 2.88 percent in their share price as at Friday, September 16, 2016. They are presently trading at GH¢1.95 and GH¢27.2o per share respectively.

The GSE Financial Sector Index as at Friday, September 16, 2016, stood at 12.61 per­cent in cedi term.

However, the GSE Com­posite Index (GSE Cl) recorded 10.52 percent re­turn in cedi terms.

All other stock ex­changes in Africa have so far done better than the Accra bourse.

Egypt Case has registered a 13.9 per­cent growth in its market whilst Morocco-MASI has also recorded 11.9 percent growth in its market.

However, the Nigerian Stock Exchange and Kenya Stock Exchange recorded negative growths of 2.7 and 8.9 percent respectively but better than the GSE.