Accra, Sept. 11, GNA -- Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), a holding company, commenced trading on the floor of the Ghana Stock Exchange on Monday, boosting the bourse's market capitalisation to beyond the 100,000 billion-cedi mark.

The listing of ETI ordinary shares on the Accra bourse was done simultaneously with that on the Nigeria Stock Exchange and the Bourse Regionale des Valeurs Mobilieres in Abidjan.

It is the first time a company has been listed on three stock exchanges on the same day.

The share price of ETI is denominated in dollars, although it will be traded on the Accra bourse in cedis. ETI recorded an opening price of 22,350 cedis in its first trading.

Speaking at the listing, Mr Albert Essien, Executive Director of Ecobank Group, said the simultaneous listing of ETI was a demonstration of the commitment of the group to give meaning to economic and regional integration and private sector development in Africa. Mr Essien said the listing would give ETI the flexibility to raise funds to develop and expand the group and its businesses and to invest in its people, processes and technology necessary to better serve the customer.

Besides, it would provide ETI shareholders the opportunity to diversify their shareholdings not only in terms of country but also in terms of currency.

=93Investing in ETI provides a simple and effective way to invest in other countries in West Africa. And as ETI expands its operations to Central, Eastern and Southern Africa, shareholders will stand to benefit from increasing integration and development of the African continent,=94 Mr Essien said.

Mr Essien said the bank's strategy was to evolve from being perceived as a Western and Central African bank to a truly pan-African bank that met the aspirations of the African renaissance to help build a better life across the continent.

Mr Kofi Yamoah, Managing Director of the Stock Exchange, said the listing would boost the image of bourse and the country as a safe and attractive investment destination for Foreign Direct Investment. He urged the Directors of ETI to provide prompt and relevant information that would enable the public to make informed investment decisions.

The ECOBANK Group was created in 1985 as a regional banking group and currently has operations in 13 Western and Central African countries. Its total assets are well in excess of 2.5 billion dollars. ETI has over 3,000 local, regional and international shareholders, which include SSNIT, Renaissance Capital and the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development.