Ghana's fixed income market recorded GHS 3.80 billion in trading on Monday, August 24, 2026. Bonds issued under the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) accounted for GHS 2.57 billion of this total, representing 67.73% of the day's turnover.
This substantial trading volume demonstrates the continued dominance of government securities in Ghana's financial markets. The DDEP bonds, which are restructured government debt, formed the largest segment by traded value. This concentration of activity reflects their central role in the secondary debt market after the 2023 domestic debt exchange.
This market structure fits into Ghana's broader economic narrative following its debt restructuring efforts. The DDEP was a critical step in the government's plan to restore macroeconomic stability. The high trading volume in these instruments indicates ongoing investor engagement with the new debt landscape. It also shows how the market has adapted to the post-DDEP environment.
According to the GFIM daily trading report, the market saw 2,219 transactions across various instruments. Treasury bills followed DDEP bonds with GHS 978.01 million in trades. This represented 25.75% of the day's total turnover. Sell/buy-back transactions contributed another GHS 242.17 million.
The continued dominance of government securities suggests that investors prioritize sovereign debt in Ghana. This is common in emerging markets where government bonds often provide benchmark yields. However, for Ghana's capital market to deepen, liquidity must eventually broaden beyond government debt. This would include more corporate bond activity.
One specific DDEP bond, GOG-BD-16/02/27-A6143-1838-8.35, was particularly active. It generated GHS 1.21 billion across 28 transactions. This single security alone made up 46.84% of all DDEP bond turnover. It also accounted for nearly 31.73% of the entire GHS 3.80 billion market total. This highlights how a few large transactions can drive headline turnover.
Treasury bills, by contrast, dominated in terms of transaction count. They recorded 2,072 trades, about 93.38% of all transactions. This suggests broad day-to-day activity in the short-term government securities market. However, their monetary value was significantly lower than DDEP bonds. This divergence between transaction count and traded value is important for market analysis.
The most actively traded Treasury bill by value was GOG-BL-23/08/27-A7109-2021-0. It generated GHS 226.95 million from 25 transactions. This instrument alone represented about 23.21% of total Treasury bill turnover. Its closing yield was approximately 11.50%.
New Government of Ghana notes and bonds saw thin trading at GHS 4.67 million. Old government securities generated only GHS 600,000. This shows a clear shift in market focus towards the DDEP instruments. The absence of corporate bond activity is also notable. This contrasts with efforts by the Ghana Stock Exchange to deepen the corporate debt market.
The structure of Monday's trading offers insight into market depth. A GHS 3.80 billion session is substantial. However, high turnover concentrated in a few securities does not always mean easy buying and selling. A truly deep market combines large aggregate turnover with activity spread across maturities and different types of fixed-income securities. This would include more corporate issuances. The market will need to broaden its scope to support long-term capital market development.