- DDEP Bonds Dominate GH¢2.64 billion Fixed-Income Turnover
Trading on the Ghana Fixed Income Market reached GH¢2.64 billion on Friday, October 23, with post-debt-exchange government bonds dominating activity as investors concentrated demand in selected medium- and long-dated securities.
The session generated 641 transactions across government bonds, Treasury bills, corporate debt and sell/buy-back trades. Domestic Debt Exchange Programme bonds accounted for GH¢1.97 billion through 82 outright transactions, equivalent to 74.53 per cent of total market turnover.
Treasury bills contributed GH¢603.48 million through 544 trades, representing 22.88 per cent of activity. Sell/buy-back transactions in government bonds added GH¢66.20 million, while corporate bonds recorded GH¢1.99 million. Old government bonds attracted only GH¢74,000, and no trades were recorded in the new government bond, commercial-paper or green and sustainable bond segments.
The figures describe a market with substantial headline liquidity but a narrow centre of gravity. Almost three-quarters of turnover came from DDEP instruments, while trading within that segment was itself concentrated in a handful of maturities.
The 8.95 per cent DDEP bond maturing in February 2031 was the most actively traded security. It recorded GH¢801.42 million from 30 outright transactions at a closing yield of 14.43 per cent and a price of GH¢82.79 for every GH¢100 of face value.
The same instrument generated another GH¢61.33 million through five sell/buy-back transactions at a yield of 13.63 per cent and a weighted average price of GH¢85.06. Combined activity therefore reached GH¢862.74 million, nearly one-third of total turnover across the market.
That concentration matters. High turnover in a benchmark-like security improves price discovery and gives investors a practical reference point for valuing neighbouring maturities. But it also shows that liquidity remains uneven, with many listed securities recording no trades during the session.
The 9.10 per cent DDEP bond due in February 2032 was the second-largest outright trade, recording GH¢575.68 million across 21 transactions. Its yield declined three basis points to 14.50 per cent from 14.53 per cent, lifting its closing price to GH¢80.40.
The price remains materially below par, reflecting the relatively low coupon inherited from the restructuring and the higher return demanded by investors. Yet the volume indicates that investors are willing to transact heavily where pricing, duration and liquidity align.
At the shorter end of the DDEP curve, the 8.35 per cent bond maturing in February 2027 attracted GH¢316.95 million across 10 trades. Its closing yield rose 29 basis points to 11.06 per cent, pushing the price down to GH¢99.15.
The movement contrasts with the longer-dated 2032 and 2038 bonds, whose yields declined. The 10 per cent bond due in February 2038 closed at 14.57 per cent, down 18 basis points, after GH¢15.85 million changed hands.
This divergence suggests that investors were not moving uniformly along the curve. Instead, the market differentiated between individual instruments according to maturity, coupon, cash-flow expectations and transaction-specific demand.
The 2029 DDEP bond recorded GH¢232.57 million at a closing yield of 14.12 per cent, while the 2030 instrument attracted GH¢23.16 million at 14.33 per cent. Together with the heavy 2031 and 2032 trading, the data show that the curve’s middle section provided the main arena for institutional repositioning.
Treasury-bill activity was more fragmented but considerably broader by number of transactions. Bills produced 544 trades, or almost 85 per cent of all transactions, even though they represented less than one-quarter of turnover by volume.
This combination indicates frequent dealings in smaller parcels, consistent with the role of Treasury bills as liquidity-management instruments for banks, funds, companies and individual investors. Bonds, by contrast, carried fewer but much larger transactions.
Average transaction sizes underline the difference. DDEP outright turnover averaged GH¢23.97 million per trade, compared with GH¢1.11 million for Treasury bills. The contrast implies that institutional portfolio decisions, rather than dispersed retail orders, drove the bond market’s headline volume. It also means a limited number of large orders can sharply alter daily turnover without necessarily signalling a change in investor confidence. Analysts should therefore assess future sessions through three lenses: whether transaction counts rise, whether activity spreads across instruments and whether yield movements persist after exceptional block trades have cleared the market.
The largest bill trade was the instrument maturing on August 9, 2027, which recorded GH¢115.90 million across 14 transactions. It closed at a yield of 8.8085 per cent and a price of GH¢93.4424.
The August 2, 2027 bill followed with GH¢104.12 million across 13 trades at a closing yield of 8.7282 per cent. The July 26, 2027 maturity attracted GH¢69.91 million at 8.6480 per cent, while the January 18, 2027 instrument recorded GH¢60.84 million at 4.5552 per cent.
The pattern shows a clear maturity premium. Near-term bills traded at yields below 5 per cent, while instruments approaching the second half of 2027 offered returns above 8 per cent. Investors extending duration were therefore compensated for locking in funds over a longer period and accepting greater exposure to future inflation, liquidity and policy-rate changes.
Closing yields on displayed Treasury-bill maturities were generally below their opening levels. The reductions were often modest, but the direction points to firmer prices and demand for short-term government paper during the session.
Demand for longer bills may also reflect an attempt by investors to secure returns before further changes in monetary conditions. If inflation remains contained and the Bank of Ghana eventually creates room for lower policy rates, securities purchased at current yields could generate price gains. That strategy, however, carries reinvestment and duration risks if inflation or currency pressures return.
The sell/buy-back segment remained small relative to outright bond trading but provided evidence of collateralised liquidity activity. Its GH¢66.20 million turnover was dominated by the 2031 DDEP bond. The 2033 restructuring bond added GH¢4.42 million at a yield of 12.04 per cent, while the August 2027 DDEP bond recorded GH¢452,400 at 9.30 per cent.
Corporate-debt trading remained marginal. The 13 per cent COCOBOD bond maturing in August 2028 led the segment with GH¢1.05 million from two trades at a closing price of GH¢103.24. The corresponding August 2027 bond recorded GH¢756,200, while Petrosol’s 17 per cent 2031 bond contributed GH¢184,800.
Corporate securities collectively represented less than one-tenth of 1 per cent of total turnover. That limited activity highlights the challenge facing Ghana’s effort to build a deeper private-debt market. Government securities continue to dominate institutional portfolios, price discovery and secondary-market liquidity.
The absence of transactions in commercial paper and green and sustainable bonds further demonstrates that market architecture alone does not guarantee activity. Issuance pipelines, credit assessment, transparent pricing and a diverse investor base are required before those segments can become meaningful funding channels.
The immediate outlook will depend on fiscal expectations, inflation, monetary policy and the government’s issuance programme. Investors will also watch whether the strong activity in DDEP bonds broadens across maturities or remains concentrated in a few securities.
Friday’s GH¢2.64 billion turnover confirms that Ghana’s restructured bonds can attract significant secondary-market demand. Yet the deeper measure of recovery is not turnover alone. It is whether liquidity becomes consistent, pricing converges across comparable instruments and corporate issuers gain meaningful access to the market.
For now, the GFIM is active but highly segmented: Treasury bills provide transactional breadth, DDEP bonds provide scale, and corporate debt remains peripheral. The next stage of development must turn that concentrated activity into a deeper and more balanced market.
