Ghana plans to issue 17.4 mln cedis ($4.07 bln) in domestic bonds in Q1

Ghana plans to issue 17.4 billion cedis’ ($4.1 billion) worth of domestic instruments for government finances and debt restructuring in the first three months of this year, the central bank said on Monday.

The papers will include a fresh five-year cedi bond this month worth 600 million cedis to support the budget, and a three-year 700 million cedi bond to be issued in February, the bank said in a statement.

The two bonds will be issued through book-building transactions, and settlement will be on the last Monday of each month. In all, about 15.5 billion cedis will be used to roll over expected maturities.

“… Government may consider accepting a reasonable amount above the target to build buffers which would be used to reduce borrowing at the short end of the yield curve,”   it said.

The West African nation this month inaugurated former opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo as president.

The major commodities exporter is halfway through a three-year financial aid programme with the International Monetary Fund to stabilise its economy, which is dogged by high public debt, budget deficits and inflation. ($1 = 4.2675 Ghana cedis)

Source: Reuters