JOHANNESBURG, Oct 16 (Reuters) – Ghana’s central bank has rebuilt its foreign reserves to the equivalent of four and a half months of import cover after they were nearly depleted during a 2022 economic crisis, Governor Johnson Asiama said on Thursday, crediting a new state-run gold trading body with helping plug foreign-exchange leaks.
The GoldBod, set up in March, has brought in about $8 billion by centralizing the purchase and export of gold, ensuring foreign currency earnings return to Ghana, Asiama said at an event during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Washington.
“It’s like a revolving kind of fund that we operate,” he said. “And I think so far it’s been complementary, helping us to build our reserves.”
Asiama said the Bank of Ghana is still receiving bullion directly from large mining firms under existing agreements, further boosting its holdings. The shift marks a turnaround from last year, when gold exports were dominated by private traders and much of the proceeds never entered the domestic banking system.
The governor also said Ghana plans to regulate cryptocurrencies by the end of this year under a new bill drafted with the help of the IMF. The legislation, now under consideration by the country’s parliament, will give the central bank authority to license and monitor virtual-asset activities after remittance flows were diverted through stablecoins and informal crypto channels.
Asiama added that legislative reforms would also strengthen the central bank’s independence and fix its balance sheet after the domestic debt restructuring, while efforts are under way to re-list more banks and revive Ghana’s capital markets.
Source:Lovinghananews.com
