Comet goes public; Seeks to raise GH¢62m for expansion

Story: Maxwell Adombila Akalaare
COMET Properties Limited, a real estate developer has launched its Initial Public Offer (IPO) to raise GH¢62 million through the sale of 61.8 million shares at GH¢1.00 per share.
When the offer goes through, it will be listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange and will become the first real estate firm to list on the Accra bourse. The company secured a provisional approval from the Ghana Stock Exchange in March this year.
The company’s shareholders would also become the first in the country to access the newly introduced electronic certification introduced by the GSE to replace the old paper certificates.
Speaking at the launch of the IPO, the Executive Chairman of Comet Properties, Nana Odeneho Kyeremateng, said the launch of the IPO was "turning the ownership of Comet from me, my wife and children to the general public", a situation he said "puts a whole hell on the head of Comet's management".
He explained that the real estate development "is a huge capital investment and one man cannot do it alone" hence, the need for the IPO to enable the company to raise the needed capital to finance its home properties as well as ensure that middle-income earners were able to afford houses.
Nana Kyeremateng, said "If Ghana is serious about growth and development, then real estate is the way forward for us" and assured the gathering that the company was committed to ensuring high standards in property business.
The Managing Director of the GSE, Mr Kofi S. Yamoah, said Comet shares comes on the back of the automated systems embarked upon by management, making Comet the first company to be listed post automation of the Stock market.
With this new initiative, he said, shareholders would receive information on their shares via e-mail and text messages, unlike the initial paper certificates which were issued to shareholders.
Mr Yamoah was optimistic that the real estate company’s first access to the electronic certification would help ease up the difficulties associated with shareholders' demands and access to information concerning the performance of their shares, as well as other relevant information from their brokers.
Comet properties was established in 2002 and is solely owned by Ghanaians.
The company was in 2009, awarded the 72nd position in the Ghana Club 100, the club of the top 100 companies in the country. Comet was also the only Real Estate Company in the club this year. The Ghana Club 100 is a programme designed by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) to identify and award Ghana’s best 100 companies according to a certain criteria.
At the 3rd Ghana Business and Financial Services Excellence Awards held three weeks ago, Comet Properties Limited was awarded the Gold Prize in the Real Estate Division.