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Govt. issues its maiden domestic US dollar 2-year bond


By: Fred Yaw Sarpong

Government has successfully issued a US$94.64 million denominated bond on the domestic bond market.

The 2-year bond, which was highly subscribed, yielded an amount of US$94.64 million at a coupon rate of 6%, consistent with the initial price range of between 5.5% and 6.5%.

A statement from the Ministry Finance says on settlement, this 2-year bond becomes one of Ghana’s lowest yield bonds aside the 2017s which are currently trading at about 5.45% and maturing in less than a year.

It stated that the offer, which was open to resident investors only, attracted a total of 26 bids with a face value of US$99.64 million.

“The proceeds of this bond will form part of the sinking fund (established by Government to repurchase or redeem specified debt) to buy back some of the high coupon instruments on the local and international capital market as part of our liability management strategy. Going forward, Government will explore the advantages that this instrument type presents as an alternative source of funding, to finance the dollar component of future budgets,” the statement said.

According to the ministry, the issuance of this bond gives further impetus to Government’s Medium Term Debt Management Strategy, which among others focuses on minimizing and/or replacing expensive shorter dated instruments with longer dated issuances. It also provides a positive boost to the development of our domestic debt market by introducing a new investment instrument for institutional and individual investors.

“The successful issuance of the bond evidenced by the generally high subscription and the favorable pricing is a reflection of the returning confidence in the Ghanaian economy and further confirms Ghana’s bright medium term prospects,” it mentioned.



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