As Ghana’s foreign reserves fall to $4.9b, government eyes Eurobond and cocoa loan
As Ghana’s foreign reserves dip by $436 million in the first six months of 2013, the government is banking its hopes on the recently issued Eurobond and the cocoa syndicated loan to come to the rescue, the central bank has indicated.
The country’s gross international reserves fell to $4.9 billion from a stock position of $5.3 billion at the end of December 2012, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) said last week July 31, 2013.
Ghana’s current reserves is now equivalent to 2.7 months of import cover, the Bank noted.
The country is now looking at the recently-issued Eurobond and the cocoa syndicated loan to boost its reserves.
“It is expected that the proceeds from the cocoa loan syndication and the Eurobond issue, amounting to a total of almost $2 billion during the second half of the year, would shore up the international reserves and further calm pressures in the foreign exchange markets,” BoG governor Dr Kofi Wampah told journalists in Accra.
About $750 million from the Eurobond will be invested in the economy as well as the $1.2 billion syndicated loan which was recently secured by the Ghana Cocoa Board.
By Ekow Quandzie
Listen to Mr. Amoabeng, fix the system and it will fix the economy. sooner the better. It a shame even smaller nations are much better govern. Have decentralisation, elected district, municipal, Regional/Provincial elections to eradicate corruption, greed and bring in accountability.
If cureent government service the 250 million of 750million 2007 Eurobonds, Ghana still owed 1.2 billion with current eurobonds in foreign bond debts excluding local debts. A country that have so much resources with tropical weather but little to show for 40yrs. continue to borrow to support budget short falls which doesn’t make sense with heavy youth population what are they learning out of this.