Finance Students & Associates-FINSA (UGBS)♨
                🇬🇭5th March, 2019
                ⏰6:00pm

BUSINESS SPACE📈
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📡 COCOBOD cautions general public on fake recruitment exercise

The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has expressed concern about the growing trend of recruitment scams by some individuals using the name of the company to dupe people. The company has uncovered over a hundred cases of recruitment scams in which individuals have been defrauded of up to GH¢5000 with the promise of securing a job at COCOBOD. According to the company, this has been going on from as far back as October 2018. The fraudsters as part of their modus operandi use names of prominent persons at COCOBOD including top executives as well as names of prominent individuals in society to lure unsuspecting Ghanaians into parting away with thousands of Ghana Cedis.

📡 Association of Contractors urges govt to keep to debt clearing timetable

The president of the Association of Building and Civil Engineering Contractors of Ghana (ABCECG), Prosper Yao Ledi confirmed that a number of contractors have received their cheques after protracted delay. He says government started paying contractors under GETFUND for projects executed last week. While he commended the government on honouring it's promise, he stated that it is important to avoid delays since it eroded the profits of contractors. He also stated that even though they do not expect the government to make bullet payment, it is important to keep to the timetable for payments.

📡 Businesses take advantage of March to sell Made-in-Ghana goods

One of the major activity in the month of March is the most important day in Ghana's history which is the celebration of Ghana's independence from British rule which on the 6th. The day is marked with significant historical and cultural celebrations to recount how the country attained freedom from colonial rule and also look forward to a prosperous future for the citizens of Ghana. The month of March is gradually becoming a month of culture heritage and history to tell the Ghana story and relive it in many ways. And this is making traders and businesses take advantage of the situation to promote their made in Ghana goods.

📡 Activity on stock market to rebound in May - Analyst predicts

UMB Stockbroker Kofi Busia Kyei is optimistic companies will be paying dividends to their shareholders around the middle of the second quarter of this year (among other happenings) which should see the market rebounding. The recent banking sector crises and subsequent reforms have led to the collapse of a number of banks and strengthening of some others. Touching on the expectations in the coming months, Kofi Busia Kyei maintained that once the banking sector issues are resolved, the market should rebound.

|Policy Rate in Ghana - 16.0%|

|Inflation Rate in Ghana - 9.00%|

|Treasury bills rates|
Period        Discount Rates       Interest Rates
91 - Day           14.1868%                  14.7085%
182 - Day      14.0676%                  15.1320%
364 - Day         15.2749                     18.0287

Foreign News💤
⚖ Libya's biggest oil field restarts, adding hurdle to OPEC cuts

Libya's biggest oil field, Sharara resumed production and it's expected to reach 80,000 barrels in one day, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak on the matter. Regular output will be fully restored in the coming days, now that the site has been re-secured after a three-month occupation at the site, state energy producer National Oil Co. said in a statement. The field has a capacity of 300,000 barrels of crude a day. It was shut down I December last year after it was seized over financial demands. The shutdown led to a $1.8bn in lost production. The company has however received assurances that site security has been restored. They verified themselves by sending out their inspection team.

⚖ Cheap stocks may boost West African bourse after terrible 2018

Cheap valuations on West Africa's regional stock exchange are tipped to improve its attractiveness as strength in two of the continent's fastest growing economies helps spur a rebound from a slump last year. The BRVM Composite Share Index of 45 companies has gained 3.8% this year after plummeting by almost a third in 2018. The GDP of the bloc's of two biggest economies, Ivory Coast and Senegal, is forecast to expand by more than 6% for a fifth straight year and support stronger company earnings in these markets.

⚖ Review site Trustpilot raises $55m to boost growth, denies report it's planning an IPO

Reviews website Trustpilot said on Tuesday that it raised $55m in a funding round aimed at fueling growth. The investment was led by Sunley House, a subsidiary of buyout-focused private equity firm Advent International. Existing shareholders Vitruvian Partners, Draper Esprit, Index Ventures and Northzone also contributed. The firm didn't disclose it's valuation, but the latest cash injection lifts the firm's total funding - bar it's initial seed round - to $173m. An IPO would mean Trustpilot joining the ranks of Europe's newly listed tech companies. Last year saw the likes of music streaming service Spotify, financial tech firm Adyen and cybersecurity group Avast list shares on the public markets.

⚖ Asian markets mixed; China lowers it's growth target

Markets in Asia were mixed by the end of Tuesday, with China announcing at its annual parliamentary meeting that it has cut its growth target. China kicked off its annual parliamentary meeting, the National People's Congress, on Tuesday where Premier Li Keqiang said the country must be prepared for a "tough struggle" as it faces a "grave and more complicated environment". The official growth target for this year will be 6.0 to 6.5%, lower than the growth rate of 6.6% in 2018, the slowest pace since 1990.

|Daily Interbank FX Rates|
Currency               Pairs Code   Buying    Selling
U.S Dollar                USDGHS 5.1976    5.2028
Pound Sterling         GBPGHS 6.8563    6.8651
Swiss Franc           CHFGHS    5.1976    5.2028
Canadian Dollar      CADGHS 3.9060    3.9100
Euro                          EURGHS 5.8851    5.8898
Chinese Reminbi     CNYGHS 0.7743    0.7746

🌀|Sources|
www.citibusinessnews.com
www.bog.gov.gh
www.myjoyonline.com
www.bloomberg.com
www.cnbc.com
www.wikipedia.com
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Term of the day📚
🤔 Bourse
A bourse is a market organized for the purpose of buying and selling securities, commodities, options and other investments. A bourse is more commonly known as a stock exchange. The word "bourse" is based on the house, belonging to Van der Burse, where merchants would gather and trade with one another.

🤔Can a Stock be traded on multiple exchanges?
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Compiled and edited by:     
Philip Elike Gagah             
Agnes Boatemaa Appiadu