Ghana government extends domestic debt exchange deadline for third time

The Ghana government has extended the expiration date for its Domestic Debt Exchange (DDE) programme to January 31, to hold stakeholder engagement with individual bondholders. 

This is the third time the government has extended the expiration date for the programme, since it announced the DDE on December 5, having prolonged the expiration date, first to December 24, 2022, before a further extension to January 16. 

The move, the government said was to reach consensus with stakeholders and mitigate any adverse impacts on bondholders, while contributing to overcoming Ghana’s current economic challenges. 

A press release issued by the Finance Ministry on Monday and copied to the Ghana News Agency, stated that discussions were ongoing with financial institutions in relation to forbearance measures, accounting treatment, and the structure and parameters of the Ghana Financial Stability Fund (GFSF). 

The Ministry of Finance noted in the release that: “A successful Domestic Debt Exchange is critical to advance our economic recovery process, and therefore it is in our common interest to make it work.” 

It also said in a Tweet that: “Building consensus is key to a successful economic recovery for Ghana.” 

Several concerns have been raised since the announcement of the DDE, making the government exempt Pension Funds from the programme, with individual bondholders also pushing for an exemption. 

The DDE forms part of processes to secure the approval of the Management and Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) $3 billion loan-support programme for Ghana’s economic recovery. 

The government launched the DDE programme, inviting bondholders to voluntarily exchange GH¢137 billion domestic notes and bonds of the Republic, including ESLA and Daakye for a package of new bonds. 

Source: GNA