Ghana’s Debt Stock Up By 20% In Four Months
Ghana’s public debt increased by a fifth in just four months, driven partly by the inclusion of short-term loans from the central bank to the state. Public debt, which excludes state-owned enterprises obligations, rose to GH¢569.3 billion ($49.7 billion) at the end of April, the Bank of Ghana said on its website.
The figure was adjusted to include the central bank’s overdraft to the government, which was securitized in December 2022. The debt figure as of December rose to 473.2 billion cedis after the adjustment, from an earlier estimate of 434.6 billion cedis, according to the central bank’s summary of economic and financial data.
Obligations as a ratio of gross domestic product declined to 71.1% in April from 77.5% in December. Ghana, which defaulted on a Eurobond payment earlier this year, is restructuring most of its debt to make it sustainable under a $3 billion International Monetary Fund program, which was approved in May.
The country completed the first part of a domestic debt exchange in February, with investors exchanging 87.8 billion cedis in obligations for new securities that paid as little as 8.35%, versus an average of 19% on the old notes. Investors also face reduced coupons as restructuring of $1.5 billion domestic dollar bonds and cocoa bills started on July 14.
SOURCE: Citinewsroom
