Government has begun talks with the Securities and Exchanges Commission to list more state owned enterprises on the stocks exchange.
The move is among others expected to solve the financial challenges facing most SOEs in Ghana.
The listing of the companies should also increase public ownership in the over 48 various SOEs.
From over 300 SOEs in 1980s, Ghana now has just 86 SOEs.
This also comprises 46 wholly government owned SOEs with 40 joint ventures.
A further breakdown also shows that 37 of the 46 wholly owned are commercial companies.
26 other SOEs are operating as Limited Liability.
The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia who disclosed this further indicated that the increased private sector participation in some areas of the economy warranted that government limits its role in such sectors.
Dr. Bawumia was speaking at the opening ceremony of a two day policy and governance forum for SOEs in Accra.
Vice president Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia says government is optimistic the listing of these SOEs will make them profitable
“Government on its part will be exploring the possibility of listing as many as possible SOEs on the stock exchange, as part of the overall drive to reform the sector and help it achieve commercial interface”, he stressed.
He also advised SOEs to adopt good corporate governance to remain profitable on the exchange.
“A major weakness of SOEs is its corporate governance structure. In addition to having leadership sufficiently invested with the requisite expertise, and get the best deals out of partnerships with the private sector, there is an urgent need to harmonize the way in which government manages these entities”, he added.
