Market News

ACCRA, Feb 18 (Reuters) – Ghana’s government has paid 10 billion cedis ($910 million) in interest under its Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP), the finance ministry said on Wednesday, marking the sixth coupon settlement since a restructuring began as the country works to emerge from its deepest economic crisis in a generation.

In a statement, the ministry said the payment is intended to reassure both domestic and international investors, strengthen market confidence and support the country’s credit outlook, while also promoting stability across the financial sector.

The latest settlement is the second “full cash” coupon payment with no payment-in-kind component, which reflects improved fiscal capacity and a stronger solvency position, the statement said.

The world’s second-largest cocoa producer launched the DDEP in late 2022 as part of a wider effort to restore debt sustainability after a severe fiscal squeeze that triggered a debt overhaul and weighed on banks, asset managers and pension funds with large holdings of government paper.

The payment covers coupon obligations on cedi-denominated instruments exchanged under the DDEP, in line with the programme’s restructuring memorandum and the government’s broader debt-management and fiscal-consolidation strategy, it said.

Ghana intends to meet future DDEP obligations, strengthen liquidity buffers and improve macroeconomic conditions to ease inflation and interest rates, the ministry said.

Ghana plans to return to the domestic debt market this year and has chosen bond market specialists that will lead the process.

($1 = 10.9900 Ghanaian cedi)