The Government will begin negotiations with Eurobond holders and commercial creditors in London on Monday 22 January 2024.
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta will try to persuade these investors to accept the terms originally proposed for 2023.
Mr. Ofori-Atta disclosed this on PM EXPRESS BUSINESS EDITION, hosted by George Wiafe, to be aired on JOYNEWS on Thursday, January 18, 2023 at 9pm.
“We are in discussions with eurobond investors and large creditors, and there is some goodwill,” he said. the finance minister said.
He added, “I look forward to negotiating in good faith so that this country can return as soon as possible.”
The finance minister is hoping to build on the momentum after reaching an agreement with bilateral creditors last week on restructuring terms worth around $5.3 billion.
background
At the first meeting with Eurobond holders and commercial creditors on 16 October 2023 in London, the Minister of Finance announced a reduction in principal and interest rates for Eurobond holders of up to 40.00%.
He said this was part of a broader strategy to “close the page” to reach an agreement with all parties on the restructuring of Ghana’s external debt.
Future tasks
Concerns have been expressed about negotiations with eurobond holders, as opposed to domestic debt exchange programs or deals with bilateral creditors.
However, the finance minister believes that much effort has been made in the past few months to persuade eurobond investors to accept the government’s offer.
He expects negotiations between bilateral creditors and eurobond holders to be concluded by the end of March 2024.
“I originally wanted to complete negotiations with all these creditors in December 2023, but looking at the current situation, the end of the first quarter is achievable,” the minister added. Ta.
Some analysts argue that finalizing these negotiations could be critical if Ghana is to pass the second round of review under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program. ing.
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