Government through the Finance Ministry has announced the suspension of the launch of the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the Agyapa Royalties transaction.

The new development is a plot twist, considering there were widespread reports that the IPO was set to be launched this month (October) 2020.

According to a letter signed by the Deputy Finance Minister, Charles Adu-Boahen and addressed to the Office of the Special Prosecutor, the decision is a result of a pending completion of a corruption risk assessment by the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

“The Ministry does not intend to proceed with the IPO ahead of the results of the corruption risk assessment by your office. The international investor community has been closely monitoring the outcome of the current state of the transaction, and, it would, therefore, be detrimental to proceed without receiving the necessary approvals and green light from your office,” the letter read.

“Additionally, we will be required to fully disclose in the prospectus to the transaction, the outcome of any investigation by your office prior to approval by the respective regulators of stock exchanges in Ghana and the United Kingdom”, the letter added.

The Finance Ministry assured the Office of the Special Prosecutor that it will be available to provide further clarification or information on the transaction agreement.

Prior to approving the Agyapa Royalties transaction, Parliament in 2018 passed the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) Act 2018 which establishes the Fund to manage the equity interests of Ghana in mining companies and receive royalties on behalf of government.

The sole purpose of the fund is to manage and invest these royalties and revenue from equities for higher returns for the benefit of the country and government through the MIIF.

In exchange for that, the Agyapa Royalties Limited aims to raise between US$500 million and US$750 million for the Government on the Ghana and London Stock exchange’s intended for development and infrastructure projects.