Ghana’s Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, says the country will resume communication with its foreign bondholders next week.
This move is part of the country’s efforts to extend the momentum created by last week’s agreement to restructure $5.4 billion in official creditor debt.
According to Ofori-Atta, during an interview conducted on the fringes of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual gathering in Marrakech in October, the West African nation will look to carry on the conversation after meeting with holders of its about $13 billion in outstanding Eurobonds.
He also mentioned that officials will visit China on January 23.
China and France co-chair Ghana’s Official Creditor Committee, and the agreement made with the committee was essential to obtaining further funds from a $3 billion rescue loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Restructuring negotiations last year were a “very difficult, painful process,” but Ghana has “built pretty good momentum”, Ofori-Atta said.
The IMF board is due to meet on Friday to decide on a $600 million disbursement from Ghana’s bailout program.
Getting approval is usually seen as a formality once a meeting has been scheduled, and would unlock funding from other multilateral lenders.
The World Bank was expected to decide on $550 million of “sorely needed” funding on 25th January, Ofori-Atta added.
Ghana is reworking its debts under the Common Framework, a restructuring process set up by the G20 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic that has been criticised for slow results.
Ofori-Atta said the 2022 macroeconomic situation had been “cage rattling”, but was improving, and he pointed to a rise in revenue and a decline in inflation.
The latest data showed consumer inflation had slowed to 23.2% year-on-year in December compared to the more than 50% when the country tipped into default.
Meanwhile growth was running at 3%, more than twice the IMF’s projected rate of 1.2%, Ofori-Atta said.
