Audio By Carbonatix
Ghana has cleared a key hurdle to restructure its international bonds, as its official creditors confirmed the proposed debt rework was not overly favourable to bondholders.
"The Ministry ... has received a formal confirmation from its Official Creditor Committee (OCC) that the Agreement in Principle reached with representatives of Eurobond holders is consistent with the Comparability of Treatment principle," Ghana's Finance Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
"Comparability of Treatment" is a principle from the Paris Club of wealthy creditor nations aimed at ensuring its members do not give outsized concessions compared to private lenders or others outside the group.
A Paris Club spokesperson confirmed the OCC had found Ghana's bond restructuring deal gave comparable treatment to different types of creditor.
Leeuwner Esterhuysen, economist at Oxford Economics Africa, said the green light from official creditors meant Ghana could soon issue new bonds to investors to replace the ones being restructured.
"The country aims to begin the bond exchange this month still and conclude it by the end of September," he said.
Ghana had in January reached a deal to restructure $5.4 billion of loans with its Official Creditor Committee, including China and France, which co-chair the group.
The country clinched an agreement in principle with two bondholder groups to restructure around $13 billion of its international bonds in late June, making it the second African country after Zambia in recent weeks to reach the final stages of a debt overhaul.
The government now needs to ask all its bondholders to vote on the proposed deal, which if confirmed would finalise the debt rework.
The West African gold and cocoa producer defaulted on most of its $30 billion in external debt in 2022, after the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and higher global interest rates exacerbated years of overstretched borrowing.
Latest Stories
-
NADMO sounds flood alert ahead of Bagre Dam spillage
30 minutes -
Choirmaster bids emotional farewell to late wife Beverly Afaglo
2 hours -
Prince Kofi Amoabeng Leadership Foundation opens applications for Cohort 4
2 hours -
NaCCA warns schools against use of unapproved assessment materials
3 hours -
Open SOS call to President Mahama for justice
4 hours -
Sir Sam Jonah takes Abuja land dispute with Nigeria to ICC arbitration
5 hours -
Ghanaian paediatric oncologist Dr. Emmanuella Amoako wins 2026 Roux Prize
5 hours -
Kingsley Atta secures Bantama NPP Chairmanship with slim 4-vote victory in re-run
5 hours -
Ghana’s Deputy Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Sanni Jajah passes on
5 hours -
Hormuz talks positive, Oman says, as Iran warns deal would not open strait
5 hours -
Nestlé Ghana launches ‘My Coffee, My Vibe’ campus activation
6 hours -
US offers $1bn to Colombia on new right-wing president’s first day of office
6 hours -
GRA must tackle tax leakages and expand informal sector taxation – Asantehene
6 hours -
UEFA Conference League: Ghana’s Prosper Ahiabu scores winner as Inter Turku beat Vaduz
7 hours -
ECG announces four-day power outage schedule for parts of Accra East
7 hours