Government has reached an agreement with the Ghana Commercial Bank on a significant settlement of debts owed it by the Tema Oil Refinery. It involves a government guarantee to pay about 90 percent of the estimated 650 million Ghana cedis outstanding. The Managing Director of GCB, Mr Simon Dornoo, confirmed to Joy Business, the government is to issue a three-year bond for 572 million Ghana cedis. “The three-year bond literally means that it is not really cash injection into the bank, it is just the conversion of a loan into an instrument – replacing a loan with an instrument like Treasury bill of Treasury bond,” he explained. He said though the deal is done, the fine details are still being worked out. Mr Dornoo said the settlement now frees the bank to do business in the oil sector. He adds that the remainder of the outstanding debt will be settled through another arrangement. The settlement should significantly reduce the debts of the refinery and place it back on its feet. Source: Joy Business/Ghana