Ghana to issue a Eurobond of one billion dollars in 2015

The government of Ghana plans to issue a Eurobond of a billion dollars in 2015 to repay part of its debt that will mature in 2017, Reuters reported on March 5th, quoting the Minister of Finance, Seth Terkper. The Eurobond has a maturity of 10 years, added the same source added.

Mr. Terkper, the Ghanaian government will also continue to use its oil stabilization fund to manage the volatility of its currency.

The government will also continue to use its oil stabilization fund, oil price hedging and monetary tightening to manage foreign exchange volatility for Ghana’s cedi currency, Terkper said in an interview late on Wednesday.

The government of John Mahama had already lifted in September 2014 a billion dollars through a Eurobond with a lower coupon than expected by analysts. The rate of Eurobond stood at 8.125%, a performance for this West African country whose currency, the cedi, fell 31% last year.

Ghana’s GDP grew by about 7.5% per year over the past decade, thanks to large exports of gold, cocoa and oil as the country began producing oil in 2010. But Growth is expected to slow down sharply in 2015 as the government is struggling to contain inflation, the budget deficit and the debt to GDP ratio.

Considered as one of the most stable democracies in Africa, Ghana had concluded on February 25th, 2015, a financial assistance agreement of $ 930 million with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stabilize its economy and stimulate pace of reform.