According to a report, the Central Bank of Liberia (www.cbl.org.lr) has given local company Cellcom permission to sell convertible debentures and the Liberia Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI) to sell shares although there is no formal stock exchange in Liberia.
According to a report in New Democract (www.newdemocratnews.com) the CBL had earlier said several companies were selling bogus shares.
Executive Bank Governor, Dr. Miles Jones reportedly informed journalists on 21 January that the CBL was not concerned about the legality of the business but that it will safeguard public interest by making Cellcom disclose its financial information.
He is quoted as saying: “The Cellcom offering comes at a time when the capital market in Liberia has yet to be developed, including having in place the appropriate regulatory and supervisory regime.
“The development of a capital market in Liberia has been an interest of the Central Bank of Liberia, and the Bank has recently announced the need for avoiding any actions on the part of businesses that have the potential of creating problems that could lead to a loss of confidence of the public in the issuance of shares and/or debt obligations ahead of the establishment of a well functioning capital market”.
Cellcom is also selling shares. According to the report, there have been share sales where people have rushed to buy shares without good financial information.