Economic Crisis: Ghana Suspends Payment On Eurobond, Other Foreign Debt

Ghana has suspended payments on its Eurobond, commercial term loans, and on most of its bilateral debt, a week after a $3 billion agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Ghana on Monday announced the suspension of payments on most of its external debt, effectively defaulting on its debt obligations as it faces its worst economic crisis in decades.
The IMF had demanded a comprehensive debt restructuring as a condition for support.
The country suspended payments on its Eurobond, commercial term loans, and on most of its bilateral debt, a week after a $3 billion agreement with the IMF.

Ghana’s finance ministry called the decision an “interim emergency measure”. It said the government “stands ready to engage in discussions with all of its external creditors to make Ghana’s debt sustainable.”

Ahead of the new decision, Ghana last week announced a domestic debt exchange programme. A statement from the Ministry of Finance said the new move was aimed at bringing the country’s unsustainable debt level under control after its economy had been hit by high inflation, depreciating currency and low revenue.
Ghana has been struggling to service its debt since the start of the year after downgrades by multiple credit ratings agencies on concerns it would not be able to issue new Eurobonds, according to Reuters. Its public debt stood at 467.4 billion Ghanaian cedis ($55 billion) in September, of which 42% was domestic.