Government rolls over cocoa bills without consent of investors

The government has reportedly rolled over cocoa bills which matured on Thursday, January 19, 2023, without the consent of investors.

According to a report by 3news.com, the move by the government has created some commotion in the investor community.

The report indicated that one of the affected persons who spoke to 3Business said that the investors whose cocoa bills were matured were paid only for their accounts to be quickly debited, which led to some agitations between some bill holders and their banks.

“I received payments and was planning to move the funds to my business account to pay some bills, only for me to see that the transaction has been reversed. I don’t know how to pay my suppliers now,” the investor is quoted to have told 3Business.

The report also indicated that cocoa bill investors received a notification that their bills have been rolled over at a yield of 30.78 percent with July 20, 2023, as the maturity date.

It added that holders of short-term cocoa bill instruments, which were issued on July 21, 2022, and matured on January 19, 2023, were the persons affected.

It is unclear whether the roll-over of the bill forms part of the government’s Domestic Debt Exchange Programme because short-term instruments like cocoa bills have been exempted from it.



IB/DA