BoG accepts GH¢207.14m for 3-yr bonds at 25.48% yield

Ghana accepted GH¢207.14 million (US$74.5 million) worth of bids for a three-year bond and paid a higher yield of 25.48 percent in a slightly oversubscribed bond sale on Thursday, the central bank said.

The yield is an indication of the price being paid by the West African state as it grapples with a series of fiscal problems including a stubborn budget deficit, inflation and a falling currency.

Ghana, which exports gold, cocoa and oil, received a total of GH¢419.64 million in bids at the sale, the second this year. The auction was open to offshore investors.

Settlement of the bond is on Monday and the proceeds will be used to roll-over maturing debts and also to finance projects, Collins Antwi, deputy head of treasury at the central bank told Reuters.

A similar auction in February attracted a yield of 23 percent and many analysts expected yields to rise at Thursday's auction because of inflationary pressures and the decline of the cedi caused by unmet dollar demand by local importers.

The cedi has declined 18.7 percent since January, prompting the central bank to adopt a string of measures aimed at curbing the slide.