Investors have shown strong interest in the government’s short-term securities, tendering GH¢5.01 billion for Treasury bills at the latest auction, exceeding the government’s target of GH¢3.54 billion by GH¢1.47 billion.
The Bank of Ghana (BoG), however, accepted GH¢4.11 billion in bids at Tender 2032, held on November 6, ahead of the issuance scheduled for November 9. The accepted amount was GH¢563.96 million above the initial target.
The auction covered the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day Treasury bills, with the shortest-term security attracting the largest share of investor interest.
Out of the GH¢4.11 billion accepted, GH¢2.93 billion went into the 91-day bill, while GH¢934.50 million and GH¢243.15 million were accepted for the 182-day and 364-day bills, respectively. This means the 91-day bill accounted for more than 71 per cent of the total accepted bids.
Investors tendered GH¢3 billion for the 91-day bill, GH¢1.62 billion for the 182-day bill and GH¢388.45 million for the 364-day instrument.
The Bank of Ghana accepted approximately 97.5 per cent of bids submitted for the 91-day bill, compared with 57.7 per cent for the 182-day bill and 62.6 per cent for the 364-day bill.
The figures suggest a stronger preference for shorter-term investments, although the auction results do not establish the reasons behind investors’ maturity choices.
The weighted-average interest rates for the November 9–13 period stood at 4.5624 per cent for the 91-day bill, 6.2020 per cent for the 182-day bill and 9.4846 per cent for the 364-day bill.
On a discount basis, the respective rates were 4.5109 per cent, 6.0154 per cent and 8.6629 per cent.
The results also show that the Bank of Ghana did not accept all the bids submitted, particularly for the longer-term securities. Of the GH¢1.62 billion tendered for the 182-day bill, GH¢684.70 million was rejected, while GH¢145.30 million of the GH¢388.45 million submitted for the 364-day bill was not accepted.
The latest auction recorded a significant increase in investor participation compared with the previous tender held on October 30.
Tender 2031 attracted GH¢2.55 billion in bids, out of which GH¢1.92 billion was accepted. The latest tender therefore recorded nearly twice the previous auction’s total bids, while the amount accepted more than doubled.
The Bank of Ghana has set a higher target of GH¢5.57 billion for the next auction, Tender 2033, covering the same three Treasury bill maturities.
The new target represents an increase of GH¢2.03 billion, or approximately 57 per cent, over the GH¢3.54 billion target for the November 6 auction.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Ghana has clarified that participation in the primary Treasury bill auction is restricted to Primary Dealers, who are required to act as market makers in government securities.
Members of the public interested in purchasing or selling Treasury bills can access the securities through the secondary market using depository participants, including Primary Dealers.
The next auction will test whether investor demand can keep pace with the government’s increased borrowing target, particularly as the latest results show that interest remains heavily concentrated in the 91-day Treasury bill.
