Absa’s NewGold Exchange Traded Fund debuts on Ghana bourse

Ghanaian investors can now buy and sell the NewGold Exchange Traded Funds after it was officially listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

Dr Sam Mensah, Chairman of Council of the Exchange, made the official listing pronouncement and together with officials of the South African group Absa Capital rang the bell to signal the official admission of the security to the trading platform.

South African group Absa Capital took the decision to list its gold-backed ETFs on the Ghana Exchange after the primary listing in South Africa and other listings on bourses in Nigeria and Botswana.

The fund will open on an initial offering split into 400,000 units, to test demand in the market before future possible expansion.

Kofi Yamoah, Managing Director, GSE said investors would be able to track the performance of the security once they know the gold price and the dollar-cedi exchange rate.

Besides, the listing on the bourse will help diversify the stock exchange away from the equities and bonds that currently dominate it.

Dr Vladimir Nedeljkovic, Head of Investments at Absa Capital, expressed the hope that NewGold ETF would bring valuable addition to the Ghana investment space, adding that, the security brought with it simplicity and convenience to the investing public.

Mr Benjamin Dabrah, Managing Director Barclays Bank Ghana, said gold was a reliable store of value and ETF would provide avenue for investors seeking alternative investment products.

NewGold, Africa’s largest ETF, is the best performing ETF on the continent over five years, with a return of 22.55% per year, a two year return of 24.76% and a return over three years of 21.66%.

Source: GNA