Ghana to start debt restructuring negotiations with bondholders
Ghanaian authorities and international bondholders expect to begin talks this week aimed at a deal to restructure roughly $13 billion of defaulted global debt, according to people familiar with the matter.
A group representing the private investors and government officials plan to hold meetings to kick off negotiations over the coming days, the people said, asking not to be identified as information isn’t public. Creditors entered into non-disclosure agreements with the government this week, signaling a first step in the process, the people said.
Bondholders are weighing a proposal put forth by the government, one of the people said, without discussing details of the offer.
A spokeswoman for the Finance Ministry didn’t respond to telephone calls or text message seeking comment.
Ghana began working to revamp its debt a little over a year ago as part of a deal with the International Monetary Fund, reaching an agreement in principle with bilateral creditors in January to rework $5.4 billion of obligations under the Group of 20 Common Framework for Debt Treatment.
The focus now is on finalizing a pact with eurobond investors, using the “comparability of treatment” guiding principle of the framework.
Investors had previously proposed a restructuring in which Ghana would link interest payments on some of the debt to the future economic growth of the West African nation, Bloomberg reported this month.
Notes due in 2032 have rallied this month to around 47 cents on the dollar, according to indicative pricing compiled by Bloomberg.
