Ghana plans to issue a 10-year syndicated US$2billion bond before year-end to clear legacy debt among its power utilities, a senior government official said on Tuesday.
The lion’s share of proceeds from the bond was meant for power generation company Volta River Authority, with the rest spread between GRIDCo and the Electricity Company of Ghana, said the petroleum ministry chief director Thomas Akabzaa.
“What we are trying to do as a government is to put all the debt into one portfolio. The three entities all have big legacy debts (in total) hovering around US $1.5billion,” Akabzaa told Reuters on the sidelines of an African oil conference.
“The bond will be issued before end of the year, certainly,” Akabzaa said.
He said they met banks last week and government is putting final touches to the bond, with issuance protocols for the bond expected to be finalised at the end of June.
Discussions have been held with a number of banks, including Standard Bank unit Stanbic, Ecobank, and Standard Chartered Bank, he added.