Ghana renews bond exchange offer to improve debt sustainability
Ghana’s government reopened an offer to exchange loans held by local bondholders for new securities to make its debt more sustainable.
The invitation was made to holders of so-called eligible bonds that didn’t participate in a previous swap announced in February, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday. New securities that will be offered in exchange for existing bonds are expected to be more liquid, it said.
“In addition, the government could under certain circumstances prioritise payments on the new bonds over payment on the eligible bonds,” the ministry said. “Participation in this administrative reopening would also further improve the cashflow position of the government and further support debt sustainability.”
So far, an average of about 85% of bondholders have accepted the exchange, the ministry said.
Ghana last month announced it agreed to terms to swap about $4 billion of domestic debt, which came after the $7.7 billion that the country restructured in February.
