by Nurat Uthman
Ghana will invite investors in its Eurobonds to exchange their bonds for reissued ones in the coming days, Finance Minister Mohammed Amin Adam said on Thursday, a crucial step in its protracted debt overhaul.
The world’s number two cocoa producer has been restructuring its $30 billion debt to recover from its worst economic crisis in a generation.
“The completion of the debt exchange will pave the way for a normalisation of our relationship with the bond market,” Adam said, adding that the exchange would last 21 days.
“We expect all bondholders to fully participate in the offer,” Adam added during a monthly economic update.
He said he believed the exchange would launch next week.
Separately, Ghana’s government will raise funds from a syndicated loan and domestic sources for cocoa purchases for the 2024/25 crop season, Adam said.
The syndication is expected to bring in no more than $600 million, meaning funding from alternative sources would be needed, Adam said, adding that the West African country’s marketing board Cocobod was still negotiating with banks.
Agriculture Minister Bryan Acheampong, who was also present, said other sources of funding would include global cocoa processors.
Turning to Ghana’s $3 billion loan programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Adam said an IMF mission would visit from Sept. 24 to Oct. 4 for a third review, which he hoped would be concluded, with $360 million in funding disbursed, by December.
The IMF’s executive board approved the second review of the loan programme in late June, allowing for the immediate disbursement of around $360 million.
Adam said Ghana’s budget deficit stood at 2.4% of gross domestic product (GDP) between January and July, lower than the target of 2.8%.
