INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
(Reuters) - Ghana has failed to agree a deal with two bondholder groups to restructure $13 billion of international bonds, the government
said on Monday, in a blow to its efforts to swiftly emerge from default and economic crisis.Talks were on hold for now after the
International Monetary Fund indicated that the deal would not fit its debt sustainability parameters, which set out how much debt it thinks
a country can afford, the government said in a statement.Ghana had been in formal talks with two groups holding its international bonds
regional African bondholder group had also rejected part of the proposed rework, including an option to retain the original value of the
bonds with a longer maturity and lower coupon.In December 2022, Ghana defaulted on most of its external debt of about $30 billion as it fell
Debt costs and inflation surged, reserves dwindled and the government found itself unable to access international bond markets.Growth in the
said in the regulatory statement.The dollar-denominated bonds, known as eurobonds, fell between 2.6 and 3.2 cents, with most of the
maturities trading between the 46 and 48 cents in the dollar mark, according to Tradeweb data.Regional bondholders believe the Ghanaian
Executive Officer at Renaissance Capital Africa and financial advisor to the group, told Reuters.The IMF approved a $3 billion, three-year
loan program for Ghana in May 2023, contingent on Ghana implementing reforms and finishing a debt restructuring that the fund deems
review of the loan program, which was finished in January
its debt under the G20 Common Framework, a process set up during the COVID-19 pandemic to speed up debt overhauls.However, progress has been
get its bond restructuring deal over the line amid objections from official creditors, though it eventually reached an agreement in
review of its $3 billion loan programme, that the Fund needed to continue to see progress in talks with bondholders.Ghana is aiming to cut
$10.5 billion from its external debt repayments and interest costs due from 2023 to 2026
It reached an agreement in principle in January to rework $5.4 billion of loans with official creditors, which will need to confirm that the
bondholder deal is comparable to what they offered.The bondholder deal that had been proposed would have included a heavily discounted
option of three bonds maturing between 2030 and 2038 with coupons of 5% until 2027 and 6.5% after
This bond and the discounted options would have had a nominal, face value haircut of 33%.Some bondholders had favoured the use of so-called
differences in their outlook.Source: Reuters--Agencies
