The Paris Club of major creditors, which does not include China as a permanent member, is scheduled to convene on Friday in preparation for the OCC meeting on January 8, two people familiar with the matter said.
The Paris Club will share a technical note on Ghana this week with other bilateral creditors and multilateral lenders, one of the sources said, with the rich country group proposing a December 2022 deadline. said a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
“Ghana is still on the deadline, but the creditors have not yet come to an agreement,” the source said. “If a deadline is agreed, it means a debt restructuring agreement is near.”
A Paris Club spokesperson declined to comment on meetings that have not yet taken place. Ghana’s Ministry of Finance did not respond to requests for comment.
The West African country, which produces gold, cocoa and oil, agrees to a debt restructuring with its official creditors to gain IMF board approval for the next $600 million payment from a $3 billion bailout loan. There is a need.
This is because the Washington-based lender needs loan guarantees that debt relief will be provided by bilateral creditors under the IMF program.
A year ago, Ghana, whose severe economic crisis has caused inflation and government debt servicing costs to spiral, called for bilateral debt restructuring under a common framework. The Common Framework is a process established by major G20 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company is also in talks with overseas bondholders to restructure more than $13 billion in foreign debt. Bondholders include leading global asset managers such as BlackRock, PIMCO, Vontobel, AllianceBernstein, and Neuberger Berman.