ACCRA, Oct 6 (Reuters) – Ghana has suspended the $500 million listing of its gold royalty fund Agyapa Royalties in London following concerns raised by the main opposition party about transparency and governance, a finance ministry letter reviewed by Reuters showed.

In an Oct. 1 letter to the special prosecutor, deputy finance ministry Charles Abu Boahen said the government would delay the Initial Public Offering (IPO), following criticism by the opposition National Democratic Congress opposition party.

“It would be detrimental to proceed without receiving approvals the green light from your office,” Boahen wrote.

A finance ministry spokesman declined to comment immediately.

Agyapa Royalties, a government-backed fund that holds equity interests including mining royalties in the state’s gold assets, had hired banks to list on the London Stock Exchange, sources said on Sept. 21.

Ghana wants to take advantage of the precious metal’s strong performance this year to raise $400 million-$500