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Ghana’s debt restructuring deals to be concluded soon— Finance Minister

Published

1 year ago

June 19, 2023

Ghana’s Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has revealed that the West African country intends to complete its debt restructuring deals soon.

Ofori-Atta said Ghana was in the process of getting a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the creditors. He further revealed that the debt restructuring would be done before the next review of its $3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“We’ve successfully worked with the Paris Club and other creditors to determine the parameters for official debt restructuring under the G20 common framework for debt treatment,” Ofori-Atta told journalists in Accra on Sunday.

“We expect to finalise these negotiations before the next review, which is in September,” he said.

“In the coming weeks, we will seek to complete the MoU on terms with bilateral debt treatment,” he added.

Ghana is experiencing a financial crisis which led to a default on its foreign debt. It is currently advocating for debt restructuring with its creditors, namely China, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. Its GDP growth is anticipated to decrease from 5.4% in 2021 to 3.2% in 2022.

To successfully implement a $3 billion loan agreement from the IMF, it is negotiating a decrease of $10.5 billion in interest payments on its external debt over the next three years.

It is also battling severe inflation, as rate rose to 42.2% year on year in May, up from 41.2% in April.

According to the minister, the government remains keen on economic reforms to stabilise the Ghanaian economy, and discussions are also ongoing with private creditors, and Eurobond investors on external debt to reach an agreement with private creditors in the shortest possible time.

Related Topics:Debt restructuring Featured Ghana Ken Ofori-Atta

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IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

2 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.