The government is preparing to launch an external debt exchange offer in the coming days, marking a pivotal step in the country's ongoing debt restructuring efforts.
This announcement was made by the Minister of Finance, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, during a press conference on Thursday, August 29.
He emphasised that the initiative is a crucial part of Ghana's path toward restoring financial stability.
Dr.
Adam highlighted the potential benefits of the debt exchange, noting that it could provide Ghana with $4.4 billion in debt service relief and cancel $4.7 billion throughout the IMF program.
These measures are expected to play a significant role in reducing the country's debt-to-GDP ratio to 55% by the end of 2028, aligning with the target set to restore debt sustainability. "We are pleased to officially launch our exchange offer in the coming days marking a critical study in our external debt restructuring journey.
The change offered represents the terms agreed in principle with all bondholders on June 24, 2024, including important concessions which the bondholders made to Ghana and ensuring a fair burden sharing between our domestic official and commercial external creditors. "The exchange will be open for 21 days and we count on the full support of our bondholder community, both abroad and in Ghana to reach high participation levels.
We expect that all our outstanding bonds will be exchanged for our new bonds where investors can choose between two options; a power option with no nominal haircut but a low interest rate and a disco option with a 37% nominal haircut but a higher interest rate. "The debt exchange will allow Ghana to save $4.4 billion in debt service relief and a cancellation of $4.7 billion over the course of the IMF programme and contribute to reducing our debt-to-GDP ratio to 55% by the end of 2028 which is the target we are hoping to achieve to restore debt sustainability. "We thank the bondholder community for their support and hope that the successful exchange will pave the way for a nominalisation of our relationship with the international market," he stated.