30% - 40% debt exchange by external creditors could reduce Ghana’s debt drastically - Analyst

An Associate Professor of Finance at Andrews University in Michigan, Williams Peprah, has stated that Ghana’s Eurobond debt will reduce substantially if bondholders buy into the debt rework proposal presented by the finance minister.

He stated that Ghana will save between $6 to $7 billion out of the $13.1 billion it currently owes if the country accepts the proposal.

Ghana’s finance minister has said that it is hoping that the Eurobond holders will accept a haircut of between 30% to 40% after which interest payments are projected at between $460 million and $390 million annually for the next 20 years.

According to Ken Ofori-Atta, he expects the external debt exchange to be concluded by the end of 2023.

In that light, Prof. Peprah said it will be beneficial to the country if the percentage proposed is accepted.

“From the discussion of what the finance minister [Ken Ofori-Atta] has mentioned, if we are able to attain a 30% to 40% haircut on the $13.1 billion, the Eurobond debt will reduce drastically to between $9.9 billion and $7 billion. And this in respect is going to reduce the interest payment for the next 20 years between $460 million and $390 million a year.

“So, this means that we'll be able to have enough room to plan, and it is going to reduce our debt burden so that we will be able to achieve the Gross Domestic Product to debt ratio that we have all been envisaging to achieve,” he explained as quoted by myjoyonline.com.

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Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.

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