Ghana is in talks with Standard Chartered Plc and Standard Bank Group Limited for a bridge loan of $750 million and will repay the facility with the proceeds of a Eurobond sale, reports Bloomberg.
The Ministry of Finance listed the proposal for a syndicated loan in the Friday, March 8, 2019, Parliamentary order papers and said it was intended to “fund or refinance development projects and for liability management,†according to the document.
The facility would be a short-term loan, Mark Assibey-Yeboah, chairman of the finance committee, told Bloomberg via telephone. “This is bridge financing against the Eurobond,†he said, adding that the bond sale may take two or three months to be finalized.
Ghana needs $2 billion in foreign-currency debt to help finance the 2019 budget and will take on an additional $1 billion if government is able to secure loans or securities at lower rates than it’s paying for existing liabilities.
In February 2019, the government appointed five banks, including StanChart and Johannesburg-based Standard Bank, as lead arrangers for a Eurobond sale, according to people familiar with the matter, reports Bloomberg.
credit: Bloomberg