Ghana and private creditors to reach agreement by mid-2024 – Fitch

Adnan Adams Mohammed

Ghana is likely to reach an agreement with private creditors by mid-2024, Fitch has revealed.

This expectation follows an agreement reached fortnight ago with the official creditor committee (OCC).

Ghana is looking to restructure US$20 billion of its external debt, including bilateral debt, export credit agencies-backed commercial loans, Eurobonds and non-insured commercial loans, under the G20 Common Framework.

Financing assurances from the official creditor committee (OCC) were provided in May 2023. This agreement is crucial to the Ghanaian economy as the release of the second tranche of US$600 million of the International Monetary Fund, (IMF) is dependent on it.

“Under its baseline scenario, Fitch expects Ghana to reach an agreement with private creditors by mid-2024, following an agreement with the OCC”, it said.

In October, the IMF and Ghana reached a staff-level agreement (SLA) on the first review of the three-year Extended Credit Facility. As one of the requirements, monetary financing of the fiscal deficit ended in May 2023.

IMF board approval of the first review, which would permit a US$600 million disbursement, is pending on an agreement between Ghana and the OCC.