Stock exchange starts the year mixed

Barclays, Standard ease into new millennium without glitches

GT says there are no problems

State lost revenue through tax exemptions - Mr Osafo-Marfo

GCAA, Airforce organise Y2K assurance flights

Stock exchange ends 1999 trading in the red

Accra (Greater Accra) 3 Jan. 2000

The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) began trading this year mixed with the GSE All-Share Index, the main market indicator, inching up by one point but trading recording another dull session.

The GSE ended at 737.16 points, up from last year's close of 736.16 points.

The change in the year starts at one per cent. Last year it ended at negative 15.22 per cent.

Brokers attributed the poor performance of the exchange in 1999 year to the withdrawal of major foreign investors.

Total shares traded on Monday were a mere 3,500 as investors were still in

a holiday mood. The final day for last year saw only 7,000 shares changing hands.

Bids on Monday were 24,500 shares compared with 28,300 while offers were 335,950 shares, up from 287,400 shares during the last trading last year.

Market capitalisation opened the year at 3,206.98 billion cedis compared with 3,205.39 billion cedis.

On the broader market, there was only one price change, a 100-cedi gain by Standard Charted Bank (SSB) to 19,100 cedis.

The year began without any Y2K computer glitch at the Stock Exchange as has been the case in other sectors.

The following are the last prices of equities in cedis:

ABL 450

AGC 18,700

ALW 2,489

BAT 469

CFAO 38

EIC 1,880

FML 916

GBL 1,450

GCB 760

GGL 950

HFC 750

MGL 200

MLC 151

MOGL 12,800

PAF 300

PZ 800

SCB 19,100 +100

SPPC 150

SSB 1,984

UNIL 1,850

UTC E 125

CMLT 420

GRi../

Accra (Greater Accra) 3 Jan. 2000

Barclays Bank Ghana Limited and Standard Chartered Bank slid into the new millennium on Saturday without any hitch associated with the millennium bug, saying their extensive preparedness has paid off very well.

The two banks, which are foreign-owned with some Ghanaian shareholders, were the only ones, which were open with 24-hour command centres. They said their systems are in order and working perfectly.

Ms Harriet Phillips, Y2K Manager of Barclays, told the Ghana News Agency at 0056 hours that their systems rolled over without any problem and "we are happy with the turn of events.

"We told you that we were compliant and we have proved it. What is left now is to wait for Monday and see how we go ahead with transactions."

She said they were still undertaking tests, adding "we are going to have a full report on Monday. But now everything has clocked well and we are happy it is so."

Mr Ben Bannerman, Head Global Technology at Standard Chartered Bank, said, "the roll over was smooth, with no problems".

"We at Chartered, have checked all our systems and the dates are OK. Our command centre is operating and will be doing so till the night of January four.

Mr Sui Fiawoo, IT Manager at Ghana Commercial Bank command centre, near the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, said on Friday that they were not expecting any glitches and hope to carry out normal work on Monday third January.

GRi../

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Accra (Greater Accra) 3 Jan. 2000

Ghana Telecom (GT) officials on Saturday popped champagne as they eased into the new millennium without any glitches.

GT had carried a heavy burden of making sure the country's telecommunications system worked smoothly and the officials said "we have succeeded in doing just that - smooth sailing".

As at an hour 45 minutes after midnight, GT said they had had no problems from any of their regional and district offices and both international and local calls were going out and coming in.

Mr Dickson Oduro-Yaning, Chairman of GT's Y2K Committee, said they had tested their machines before midnight and did not anticipate any problems.

The ECG main sub-station near the Kwame Nkrumah Circle also said they had not experienced any problems.

GRi../

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Winneba (Central Region) 3 Jan. '99

The country lost a total of 3.2 trillion cedis in revenue last year through tax exemption granted by the government to Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs).

This was a result of dubious presentations made by some NGOs in respect of items obtained from donor agencies for humanitarian services.

Mr Yaw Osafo-Marfo, MP for Akim Oda and member of Parliamentary Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism said at a symposium at the 51st annual New Year School at Winneba.

He said to forestall this, plans are afoot to set up a special Subcommittee to deal with the issue to guarantee the interest of genuine NGOs.

Mr Safo-Marfo said NGOs seeking tax exemptions would be compelled to furnish Parliament with details of specifications and prices of items donated.

He suggested that apart from the Interior and Defence committee, activities of sub-committees should be conducted live on television for the public to provide inputs.

This would make their work transparent for constructive public criticism.

Mr Osafo-Marfo said arrangement had been completed to allow official houses being occupied by parliamentarians in Accra to be taken over by their respective Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies.

This would ensure that future parliamentarians would not face accommodation problem.

GRi../

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Accra (Greater Accra) 3 Jan. 2000

The Ghana Civil Aviation (GCAA), in collaboration with Ghana Air Force, early on Saturday First January 2000, organised separate Y2K assurance flights over the Accra and Tema airspace and later that of Kumasi.

They were aimed at assuring passengers and the general public about GCAA's business continuity and safety of Ghana's airspace and airports.

On board the aircraft were the Management of GCAA, including its Director-General, Wing Commander Andy Mensah, journalists and some members of the Ghana Y2K monitoring team.

Before the flights, Captain Joe Boachie, Deputy Director-General of GCAA, briefed newsmen on contingency plans put up by the GCAA to contain any Y2K related problems.

Also present was Mr Mike Hammah, Deputy Minister of Roads and Transport.

Capt. Boachie conducted newsmen round some navigation and communication aids such as the tarmac lights, control tower and power generating plants.

The first flight involving the old Presidential Jet took off around 00:45 hour under the command of Group Captain Kwame Mamfe and Wing Commander Julius Boateng over the skies of Accra and Tema.

When the plane finally touched down at 01:00 hour, the passengers applauded for joy for the safe takeoff and landing, indicating that the Kotoka Airport is Y2K compliant.

The trip from Accra to Kumasi Airport on board Air Link under the command of Wing Commanders Emmanuel Obeng and Michael Samson-Oje took about 45 minutes.

In Kumasi, Air Link took some airport workers and some school children on tour over the airspace of the Garden City.

The KIA was virtually calm, on Friday, as most airlines had suspended their operations to avoid any eventuality during the rolling over to 2000.

The only aircraft that landed at Kotoka Airport was a special flight from Cote d'Ivoire, which brought in a delegation of the new military regime.

Wing Commander Mensah noted that Ghana has proved to the whole world that it is safe to fly in Ghana's airspace, which is a credit to the nation.

He reiterated GCAA's promise to recognise the first ten airlines that fly into the Accra Flight Information Region (FIR).

Balkan Airlines flew in from Bulgaria on Saturday morning without any Y2K problem while two other international airlines, KLM and Lufthansa came in and left in the evening.

In another development Ghana Airways organised a successful test flight to Cotonou, Benin, on Saturday to assure its customers and the travelling public that its aircraft are Y2K compliant.

On board were Commander M.G. Griffiths, Deputy Minister of Communications, Mr Ben Eghan, Chief Director, and Wing Commander Andy Mensah, Director-General of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).

Others included Management of Ghana Air and GCAA, journalists and stakeholders in the aviation industry.

The delegation was received at Cotonou Airport by officials of the Benin Civil Aviation and Ghana Airways staff in that country.

Wing Commander Mensah said the successful flight to Cotonou showed that the West Africa sub-region is safe and Y2K compliant and that Africa is ready to play her part in the development of the aviation industry.

He congratulated those who made it possible for the flight, which enhanced the image of Accra and Cotonou as well as Ghana Airways.

GRi../

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Accra (Greater Accra) 3 January 2000

The Ghana Stock Exchange ended this year's trading on Wednesday in the red although the main market index showed a faint recovery.

The Accra bourse saw prices rise by a healthy 70 per cent in cedi terms in 1998. This compares with 41 per cent rise in 1997 and 13 per cent in 1996.

However, the change for 1999 ended at negative 15.22 per cent.

Brokers have attributed the poor performance of the exchange this year to the withdrawal of major foreign investors.

The GSE all-Share Index gained 0.55 points on Wednesday at 756.16 points.

Total shares traded was a mere 7,000, one of the lowest in the history of the Stock Exchange, while total bids came to 28,300 shares compared with 28,300 on Tuesday.

Total offers were 287,400 compared with 315,040 shares on Tuesday.

Market capitalisation was higher on Wednesday at 3,205.39 billion cedis as compared with 3,204.51 billion cedis on Tuesday.

On the broader market, there were three price changes - two up and one down.

Mobil Oil Ghana Limited lost 200 cedis at 13,800 cedis, Ghana Commercial Bank gained 10 cedis at 760 cedis while Mechanical Lloyd Limited gained one cedi at 151 cedis.

The following are the last prices of equities in cedis:

ABL 450

AGC 18,700

ALW 2,489

BAT 469

CFAO 38

EIC 1,880

FML 916

GBL 1,450

GCB 760 +10

GGL 950

HFC 750

MGL 200

MLC 151 +1

MOGL 12,800 -200

PAF 300

PZ 800

SCB 19,000

SPPC 150

SSB 1,984

UNIL 1,850

UTC E 125

CMLT 420

GRi../

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