Government to borrow GH¢4.12 billion in fresh funds second quarter 2021

According to government’s issuance calendar, it will borrow some GH¢4.12 billion in fresh funds in the second quarter of 2021.

The Akufo-Addo-led administration is working around the clock to raise a total of GH¢21.43 billion and commit almost 81% to service existing debt.

The funds when raised will be used to finance government’s projects outlined in the 2021 Budget.

The government will issue ¢11.3 billion via the 91-day Treasury bills, whilst GH¢5.5 billion will be mobilized through the issuance of the 182-day T-bills.

The issuance calendar also detailed that GH¢1.57 billion is, however, expected to be raised from the one-year bill.

GH¢2 billion is expected to be raised for the five-year bond while GH¢1.0 billion will be generated through a seven-year bond.

The calendar further showed that the 91-day and 182-day will be issued weekly, whilst the 364-day bill will be issued bi-weekly also through the primary auction with settlement being the transaction date plus one working day.

Securities of two-year up to seven-year will however be issued through the book-building method consistent with the Medium Term Debt Management Strategy (MTDS).

The government may however announce tap-ins/reopening of other existing instruments depending on market conditions.

Ghana’s debt hit GH¢291.6 billion in December 2020

Ghana’s total public debt stock reached an all-time high of GH¢291.6 billion in December 2020, approximately 76.1% of GDP, the Bank of Ghana said.

According to the figures, external debt alone stood at GH¢141.8 billion, approximately US$24.7 billion. This is also equivalent to 37.0% of GDP.

The domestic debt was however slightly higher at GH¢149.8 billion at the end of 2020, about 39.1% of GDP.

The financial sector debt also stood at GH¢15.3 billion in December 2020, but GH¢100 million lower, from the September 2020 data. This is however equivalent to 4.0% of GDP.