Government to open negotiations with Eurobond holders in London on January 22, 2024

The government is expected to open negotiations with Eurobond holders and commercial creditors on Monday, January 22, 2024 in London.

It will try and convince these investors to accept the terms that Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta had initially proposed in 2023.

Ofori-Atta disclosed this on PM EXPRESS BUSINESS EDITION with host George Wiafe which will be aired on JOYNEWS on Thursday, January 18, 2023, at 9pm.

“We have had discussions with the Eurobond investors and large creditors and there is some goodwill”. the Finance Minister said.

He added, “I am expecting that we negotiate in good faith to ensure the country comes back quicker than later”.

The Finance Minister is hoping to build on the momentum, following the deal reached with the bilateral creditors on terms to restructure some $5.3 billion last week.

Background

At an initial engagement in London with the Eurobond holders and commercial creditors on October 16, 2023, the Finance Minister announced up to 40.00% cut of principal and interest rates on Eurobond holders.

He said this is part of a broader strategy to “Close the Page” in reaching an agreement with all the actors in restructuring Ghana’s external debt.

Challenges ahead

Concerns have been expressed about the negotiation with the Eurobond holders unlike the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme and deal with the bilateral creditors.

However, the Finance Minister believes that a lot of work has been done over the past months to convince the Eurobond investors to accept the government’s offer.

He is hopeful negotiations with the bilateral creditors and the Eurobond holders will be finalised by the end of March 2024.

I was initially hoping to finalise the negotiations with all these creditors in December 2023, but looking at the way things are going now, the end of the first quarter is feasible”, the Minister added.

Some analysts have argued that finalising these negotiations may be critical in helping Ghana pass the second review under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.

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