Finance Students & Associates-FINSA (UGBS)♨
                🇬🇭19th March, 2019
                ⏰6:00pm

BUSINESS SPACE📈
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📡 MTN Ghana launches 4G+ service

Ghana's leading telecommunications service provider, MTN has launched its 4G+ service to provide faster data speeds with widest coverage for it's customers. The 4G+ service runs on 4G LTE Advanced technology using the combination of the 800MHz and 2600MHz for carrier aggregation which is an enhancement on the 4G LTE experience. This provides more capacity and enhanced data speed of up to 20x if migrating from 3G to 4G+ and 5x if migrating from 4G to 4G+. This was announced by Selorm Adadevoh, the CEO of MTN Ghana.

📡 Planned IMF exit causing investors to hold back funds as cedi suffers

Dr. John Kwakye, an economist and consultant has stated that Ghana's planned exit from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme next month has created uncertainties among some investors, contributing to the fall of the cedi against the dollar. According to him, some investors who are willing to bring funds into the country are unsure of how events will turnout in the country after an Extended Credit Facility programme with the IMF ends in April. He argued that this has made investors hold their funds in anticipation of how managers of the country will manage in a post IMF regime.

📡 $3bn Eurobond could attract high coupon rate - Prof Bopkin

Professor Godfred Bopkin who is an economist has said that Ghana could attract a high coupon rate on its $3bn Eurobond yet to be issued later this month. He is in the view that recent activities in the banking sector, coupled with other factors could lead to the coupon rate going up. He stated that investors will demand more returns. A government delegation comprising the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank today begun a Eurobond road show to raise $3bn to cater for infrastructure development and retire some debt. The Finance Minister is hopeful the issue of the Eurobond and Cocoa syndicated loan will help stabilize the Cedi.

📡 Ghana benefiting from hedged gold prices

 According to the Bank of Ghana's summary of Economic Financial Data as at January 2019, the earnings realized by producers has managed to stay slightly above international spot prices. The data of Gold from Ghanaian producers has seen a year to date (YTD) fall in prices of -1.2% which is smaller than the international YTD price decline of -2.2% shows that producers in Ghana that have hedged the prices of their production have benefited hugely from higher realized prices higher than the spot market prices established at the daily Gold Fix in an era when gold prices are recording poor performance.

|Policy Rate in Ghana - 16.0%|

|Inflation Rate in Ghana - 9.20%|

|Treasury bills rates|
Period        Discount Rates       Interest Rates
91 - Day           14.1929%                  14.7150%
182 - Day   14.0833%                  15.1501%
364 - Day                                             18.1898%

Foreign News💤
⚖ Online retailer ASOS hit by teething problems at US warehouse

British online retailer ASOS said it's new warehouse in Atlanta, U.S., struggled to cope with demand in its second quarter, resulting in a dip in U.S. sales and adding to challenges in French and German markets. Chief Executive Nick Beighton said the company's U.S. performance was behind plan because higher-than-expected demand at its new facility caused a significant short-term despatch backlog, which had now been cleared. He said ASOS, which targets style-conscious twenty-somethings, continued to outperform in Britain, with sales growth of 14% in the quarter, but it's two biggest markets continued to be challenging in France and Germany.

⚖ We expect cannabis global growth to continue - Tilray CEO

Shares of Tilray jumped after the company reported it's cannabis sales more than doubled over the last year. The British Columbia - based company stock was up nearly 3%. Tilray on Monday reported revenue of $15.5m, buoyed 2018 sales to $43.1m - up to 110% from last year. The surge was driven by bulk sales, the first months of the legal adult-use market in Canada and accelerated wholesale exports, according to its latest Financial update. Analysts had expected fourth-quarter sales of $14.1m.

⚖ JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs are getting more bullish on India

India has the "best growth story" among global emerging markets, said JP Morgan's head of equity research for Asia excluding Japan, as he pointed to relatively stable oil prices and positive earnings projections in the country.  In raising it's rating on Indian stocks, Goldman Sachs said that foreign investors are coming back amid expectations of a more stable government and earnings growth. India's benchmark index Nifty 50 has shot up 8% in the past month, according to Goldman and the investment bank expects earnings to grow 16% this year.

⚖ K-pop scandals are crushing Korean entertainment stocks

Two sex scandals that rocked the South Korean music world have crushed the Country's entertainment stocks as Police investigate the involvement of celebrities in alleged criminal conduct. K-Pop artist Seungri (Lee Seung-hyun), who was part of hugely popular boy band Big Bang, has been accused of providing prostitutes to investors in a club he owned. Reports say five major Korean entertainment companies lost 17.52% in value from Feb. 25 to march 15, after their combined market value fell from 3.35 trillion won ($2.96bn) to 2.76 trillion won.

|Daily Interbank FX Rates| 
Currency         Pairs Code   Buying  Selling
U.S Dollar           USDGHS 5.2374    5.2426
Pound Sterling       GBPGHS 6.9123    6.9213
Swiss Franc           CHFGHS    5.2307    5.2355
Canadian Dollar    CADGHS 3.9208    3.9247
Euro                   EURGHS 5.9364    5.9410
Chinese Reminbi    CNYGHS 0.7801    0.7802

🌀|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📚
🤔 Commodity Market
A commodity market is a market that trades in primary economic sector rather than manufactured products. Soft commodities are agricultural products such as wheat, coffee, cocoa, fruit and sugar. Hard commodities such as gold and oil are mined.

🤔 Do you know anything about cash commodities?
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📍Compiled & edited by:     
Philip Elike Gagah
Agnes Boatemaa Appiadu