The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has intensified moves to get the Ghana Real Estates Developers Association (GREDA) to utilize the capital market to raise funds.
The move follows the approval of the Securities Industry Bill by parliament which allows the Securities and Exchange Commission to license Real Estate Investment Funds.
Speaking to an accra based radio station in an interview, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission Dr. Adu Anane Antwi stated that GREDA can raise bonds on the capital market as an alternative measure to listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) to help close the 1.7 million housing unit gap in the country.
“We have being engaging GREDA to ensure that they can utilize the capital market to raise funds to help in their operations and build more houses,” he said.
He reiterated that there is always an option for GREDA to raise bonds on the capital market to boost its operations.
Explaining the purpose of the Real Estate Investment Funds, Dr. Anane Antwi stated that the fund will serve as a mutual fund by mobilizing money to support stakeholders in the real estate industry.
The new law
As part of the provisions in the Real Estate Investment Fund, the new law will ensure that the legal framework for the securities industry is robust enough to accommodate all forms of securities presently and in the future.
It also aims at strengthening the operational independence of the Commission for an effective and efficient regulation of the securities industry in Ghana.
In addition, it is expected to remove the regulatory overlaps, plug the loopholes in the existing law and remove the provisions that are obstacles to the facilitation of securities market development.
Under the new dispensation, a person may not carry on a business as a market operator without license from the SEC.
“A person is prohibited from carrying on business in relation to a stock exchange, commodities exchange, futures exchange, credit rating agencies, broker-dealer, investment adviser, among others…” the memorandum of the Securities Industry Bill, 2015 passed by Parliament said.
The Bill also empowers the Commission to revoke the license of a scheme in accordance with the provisions of the law.
The Commission may also suspend the license of unit trusts and mutual funds, on condition that the Commission specifies in writing to the manager and trustee of a scheme.
The Bill also makes provision for the imposition of levies that are payable annually to the Commission by market operators towards the expenses of the Commission for that financial year.