Ghana sold GH¢5.29 billion ($1.16bn) worth of long-term bonds on Thursday, dominated by re-openings of previous bond issues by the major commodity exporter to help restructure its high public debt, lead arrangers said.
Ghana is grappling with budget deficits, inflation and a volatile local currency, all of which have forced the government to sign a $918 credit deal with the International Monetary Fund.
Apart from a new five-year paper, sold at a yield of 17.6 per cent, the West African country reopened existing bonds with maturities of seven, 10 and 15 years, the joint book-runners Barclays Bank, Stanbic Bank and brokers Strategic African Securities said in a statement.
The government of President Nana Akufo-Addo, who took power in January, is trying to rebalance the country’s finances and narrow the public debt, which stood at ¢138.9 billion or 68.6 per cent of GDP as of the end of September.
A source close to the transaction said nearly half of Thursday’s total sale consisted of treasury bills that were restructured into long-term bonds.
“In effect, only about half of the cumulative ¢5.29 billion accepted was fresh borrowing. The other half is only converting existing treasury bill investments into longer maturities,” the source said.
Settlement for the bonds is due today.
Source: Reuters
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |