President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday said the government is keen on making Ghana a regional hub for financial services.

Thus, it is committed to supporting the country's financial market to enable it to contribute to that vision of making Ghana a capital market destination.

Speaking on the floor of Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), he said the Exchange had a critical role to play in building a robust market economy.

"A strong Exchange is a reflection of a strong economy," he said.

The President's visit is the first of a sitting leader on the floor of the exchange. He was on the GSE to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operations and the assistance needed from the government.

President Akufo-Addo emphasised collaboration with other Stock Exchanges in growing the performance of the country's capital market and made reference to the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between GSE and the London Stock Exchange last year aimed at transforming the GSE from a frontier market to an emerging one.

He said the partnership was indicative of the government's interest in improving the GSE for economic growth.

The President also urged the Exchange to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to expand its activities to unleash the continent's vast wealth.

He said the GSE should leverage its reputation as one of the best performing and innovative financial markets on the continent to increase the quantity and quality of investment.

He gave the assurance that the government would provide GSE the needed assistance to see to its proper functioning.

Mr Ekow Afedzie, the Managing Director of the GSE said the COVID-19 pandemic did not impact so much on the performance of the exchange.

He told the President that the market had done very well with some Gh¢59 billion worth of bonds trade by the end of July this year.

Mr Afedzie said the GSE would make the objective of the MoU signed with the London Stock Exchange to become an emerging market.

He urged the Government to provide incentives and policies to attract companies onto the capital market.