Oversubscription of Ghana Eurobond shows confidence in economy – Minister
The Government, on Wednesday, said the oversubscription of the three-billion-dollar Eurobond, at a record rate, is a vote of confidence in the resurgence and resilience of the Ghanaian economy by the global investor community.
Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Information Minister, addressing journalists at a media encounter in Accra, said the competitively-priced 31-year Bond was nearly seven times oversubscribed to the tune of $21 billion.
Outlining the key pillars that contributed to the oversubscription, the Minister said the growing global investors’ confidence in Ghana’s ability to offer them high returns for their investments and service her obligations, was one key pillar.
Another pillar is the robust investor confidence in the country’s future economic outlook and how much appetite was growing for investment in Ghana’s money market instruments.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the $21 billion over-subscription was the highest ever bond issued in sub-Sahara Africa, noting that such high success coming at a time the nation was exiting the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, showed that the managers of the economy were in an irreversible track of stability.
Those successes, he believed, were driven strongly by President Akufo-Addo’s administration, which introduced money markets legislations such as the Fiscal Responsibility Act, and the establishment of the Fiscal and Financial Stability Council, anchored on the regained status to macroeconomic stability.
More so, it showed the credibility of Government’s Economic Management Team, which led the country to successfully complete the IMF programme.
The proceeds of the issuance of the Bond would be utilised for budgetary support including infrastructural development and delivery of growth driving initiatives, Mr Oppong Nkrumah said.
On the way forward, the Minister said government was committed to continuing the entrenchment of structural irreversibility to sustain and anchor the macro base and ensure strict enforcement of the Public Financial Management Act.
In addition is the implementation of the Fiscal Responsibility Act under the supervision of the Fiscal Responsibility Council and the Financial Stability Council to monitor fiscal and debt sustainability interventions.
Responding to the National Democratic Congress’ news conference on the depreciation of the cedi, Mr Oppong Nkrumah said government had already acknowledged the substance of its analysis and had been working to address the challenge.
He said both the Bank of Ghana and Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister, had already outlined short-and-long term measures to deal with the situation, which had witnessed a gradual recovery of the cedi in recent times.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah expressed optimism that those interventions would eventually lead to the irreversibility of the cedi in due course, saying; “And so this Minority’s attempt to take a political jab is a little late in the day”.
Source: GNA