Business News of Wednesday, 18 July 2018
Source: Graphic.com.gh
2018-07-18
The BELSTAR Capital Limited (BELSTAR) has expressed discomfort and surprise at the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) annulment of the share purchase of four institutions in the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB).
In a statement issued by its chairman on Wednesday July 18, 2018, reacting to the BoG’s move, BELSTAR said the assertion by the central bank that the shares in ADB, acquired through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) by BELSTAR and the other three companies, were acquired by the use of the BoG’s emergency liquidity support obtained by uniBank, and placed at the disposal of the BELSTAR consortium in the form of a loan, “was not true.”
BoG on Monday announced that, with immediate effect, it has revoked the share purchase of four institutions in ADB, after declaring them not fit and proper to own shares in the bank.
This means that Belstar Capital Limited (Belstar), Starmount Development Company Limited (Starmount), SIC-Financial Services Limited (SIC-FSL) and EDC Investments Limited (EDC) are no longer shareholders of ADB.
By this ownership of the bank automatically reverts to the government of Ghana and Bank of Ghana through the Financial Investment Trust.
The BoG said, “Belstar and Starmount are not fit and proper persons and cannot permit them to continue to hold shares acquired directly or indirectly in ADB.”
The four investors owned 51 per cent of ADB, which was listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) in December 2016.
BELSTAR reaction
Reacting, BELSTAR said while information available to it confirmed that owing to a default in loan repayments to uniBank by key government-related entities, the bank had sought emergency liquidity support from BoG, the quantum of depositors’ funds available to uniBank, at the time of the IPO, far exceeded the amount of money loaned to BELSTAR to acquire the shares in ADB.
“We wish to say that we will take steps to correct the erroneous impression that the BoG has put out and use the appropriate channels to restore our business interest to encourage other private sector players to believe in the free market principles, for that is key to creating a Ghana Beyond Aid,” the statement said.