Key Takeaways
- Ghana plans to list 10 state-owned enterprises on the Ghana Stock Exchange.
- Mahama says the listings will improve governance and reduce political interference.
- The move comes after state-owned enterprises swung to profit in 2025.
Ghana plans to list 10 state-owned enterprises on the Ghana Stock Exchange as the government seeks to improve corporate governance and reduce political interference in the companies.
President John Dramani Mahama disclosed the plan at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Saturday, saying the government had prepared 10 state-owned companies for public listing. The move would allow private investors, including Ghanaians in the diaspora, to buy shares in the companies.
Mahama said the listings are intended to change how state-owned enterprises are managed by bringing them under greater shareholder and market scrutiny.
“We still have prepared ten of the state-owned enterprises for listing. And so they’ll become publicly listed companies,” Mahama said.
He said the two main objectives were to improve governance and reduce political interference in the management of state-owned enterprises.
Listings target political interference
Mahama said state-owned enterprises have historically faced political interference, with successive governments changing chief executives and boards after taking office.
Ghana operates a multiparty political system in which control of government changes between parties. Mahama said listing state-owned companies would make it more difficult for governments to remove management and dissolve boards without considering the interests of other shareholders.
“One, because we want to improve their governance. And two, because we want to reduce political interference in those state-owned enterprises,” he said.
The president also said public listings would create an opportunity for Ghanaians living abroad to acquire shares in the companies through the Ghana Stock Exchange.
The plan follows earlier discussions between the State Interests and Governance Authority and the Ghana Stock Exchange on potential listings of at least 10 state-owned enterprises.
Ghana’s government has been pursuing reforms aimed at improving the financial performance and governance of state companies.
Ghana’s SOEs return to profit
The planned listings come after Ghana’s state-owned enterprise sector recorded a significant financial turnaround in 2025.
The State Ownership Report showed that the sector moved from an aggregate net loss of GH¢2.26 billion ($195 million) in 2024 to a net profit of GH¢19.8 billion ($1.7 billion) in 2025.
Combined revenue also increased from GH¢137.71 billion ($11.9 billion) to GH¢176.43 billion ($15.2 billion).
Mahama pointed to the turnaround while explaining the government’s approach to state-owned businesses, saying enterprises should not continue to reward employees when companies are making losses.
He said the government had worked to change that pattern and improve the financial performance of state enterprises.
The president’s comments come as the government pushes for greater financial discipline across the sector. Earlier in September, he said public assets must generate measurable value for citizens and urged boards and chief executives to sustain the improvements recorded in 2025.
The planned listings would give investors a direct ownership stake in selected state companies while introducing the disclosure and governance requirements associated with publicly traded companies.
The government has not yet disclosed the 10 enterprises selected for listing or provided a timetable for the offerings.
