Fitch affirms Ghana’s dollar-denominated notes at 'CC'

Fitch has affirmed the issue rating of Ghana’s US dollar-denominated notes due October 2030 at ‘CC’.

The notes benefit from a partial credit guarantee backed by the International Develop­ment Association of the World Bank for scheduled debt service payments up to 40 per cent of the outstanding principal amount, supporting higher recoveries.

According to Fitch, the affir­mation of Ghana’s bond partially guaranteed by IDA reflects its estimation of a nominal recovery rate in the range of 51 per cent to 70 per cent, although the mo­dalities of the treatment of this bond are still being discussed. IDA has already made three cou­pon payments in 2023 and 2024.

Ghana has an ESG Relevance Score (RS) of ‘5’ for Political Stability and Rights and the Rule of Law, Institutional and Reg­ulatory Quality and Control of Corruption.

These scores reflect the high weight that the World Bank Governance Indicators (WBGI) have in the proprietary Sovereign Rating Model.

Ghana has an ESG Rel­evance Score (RS) of ‘5’ for Creditor Rights as willingness to service and repay debt is highly relevant to the rating and is a key rating driver with a high weight.