Govt targets GH¢22.19 billion in new debt issuance

Government is projecting to issue domestic debt securities of a gross amount of GH¢22.19bn in the last quarter of the year, according to the latest debt issuance calendar from the Finance Ministry.

The securities will cover government’s borrowing requirements for the period, the Ministry said.

Of the gross amount to be raised, about GH¢19.67bn is to roll over maturities, whereas the remaining GH¢2.52bn will be fresh issuance to meet government’s financing requirements.

So far this year, government has issued a total debt of about GH¢45.68bn on the domestic market, according to the issuance results published by the central bank. This amount is made up of both securities meant to roll over maturities and fresh issuances.

Based on the new issuance calendar, domestic portfolio investors will be able to invest up to GH¢13.35bn in short-term government debt securities, comprising tenors of 91 days, 182 days and 364 days, to be issued during the period. This category is reserved strictly for domestic investors.

The remaining portion of the securities of about GH¢8.84bn, comprising debt securities with tenors from two years up to 20 years, will be made accessible to non-resident investors. This category of investors mostly dominates subscriptions of such medium- to long-term issuances.

Amounts of GH¢9.7bn, GH¢1.75bn and GH¢1.9bn have been planned to be issued for the 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day bills, respectively, while GH¢3.7bn and GH¢2.9bn have been planned to be issued for the 2-year notes and 3-year bonds.

Amounts of GH¢1bn and GH¢950m have been planned for the 5-year and 7-year bonds, respectively.

An amount of GH¢287.87m of a 20-year bond will be re-opened based on investors’ request and dependent on market conditions, the Ministry said.