The Ministry of Finance has disclosed that International holders of Ghana’s Eurobonds have come together to form a bondholder creditor committee (the “Committee”).
According to the Finance Ministry, the decision comes following the public statements by the Government of Ghana of its intention to seek a restructuring of its external debt.
In a statement issued by the Finance Ministry, it said "The Committee is representative of a diverse group of institutional investors including mutual funds, asset managers, insurance firms, hedge funds, and family offices"
The statement also mentioned that the Steering Members of the Committee include holders, acting either directly or for and on behalf of the funds or the accounts they manage.
The release stressed that the Steering Members of the Committee include Abrdn, Amundi (UK) Limited, BlackRock, Greylock Capital Management and Ninety One.
The Finance Ministry noted that the Committee is focused on the orderly and comprehensive resolution of Ghana’s debt challenges, recognizing that such resolution will require fair burden-sharing and collaboration among the Ghanaian authorities, private creditors (both domestic and international) and official sector creditors.
"The Committee welcomes the authorities’ ongoing engagement with the International Monetary Fund (the “IMF”) and the recent announcement of the Staff Level Agreement"
"The Committee notes that a process of good faith negotiation would avoid unilateral actions and would require, inter alia, the timely exchange of detailed economic and financial information among the committee, the Ghanaian authorities and the IMF, and would need to be anchored in reasonably feasible economic adjustment by the Ghanaian authorities."
The Ministry stated that the Committee endorses the Institute of International Finance’s Principles for Stable Capital Flows and Fair Debt Restructuring, which provide meaningful guidance for successful sovereign debt restructurings.
The Committee, he explained stands ready for a swift engagement on that basis.
It hinted that the committee aims at securing an outcome that is both equitable to creditors and responsive to the economic and social challenges facing Ghana.
"A key factor in measuring the success of Ghana’s debt resolution would be the timely restoration of international market access, which remains critical for Ghana to meet its development objectives"
The Committee has appointed Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP as legal advisor and Rothschild & Co as financial advisor.
Below is a copy of the release:
Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith
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