Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has disclosed that government is considering the Sukuk and Panda bonds in China, in addition to the Samurai bond in Japan, to drive down the cost of the country’s next sovereign bond expected to be issued this month.
According to him, the move is aimed at diversifying the source of funds for the bond to attract a good coupon rate from emerging markets, such as Asia.
Government is expecting to raise about 1.5 billion dollars sovereign bond by end of April, 2018.
Speaking exclusively to Bloomberg News Agency, Mr. Ofori-Atta stated that government is keen on restructuring Ghana’s debt to reduce its impact on the economy.
“We have Sukuk, Samurai and Panda bonds in the mix for the 2.5 billion dollars envelope,” he told Bloomberg, adding that the ministry will visit Japan next week to explore “the possibility of issuing a Samurai bond, as we continue investigating the other instruments,”
The Ministry of Finance has already appointed Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp. and Standard Chartered Plc as head arrangers to market the upcoming sale of Eurobonds, Bloomberg said
Parliament last month gave approval for the finance ministry to proceed with a debt sale, of which Ghana will use $1 billion to help meet its 2018 budget and the remainder to refinance dollar bonds should it be able to sell the securities at a cheaper rate.
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By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana