GHANA has again extended the deadline to register for its domestic debt exchange, this time to January 31, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said on Monday.
The crisis-hit nation launched the debt swap plan at the start of December, days before clinching a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $3bn rescue package.
‘Building consensus is key to a successful economic recovery for Ghana,’ Ofori-Atta wrote on Twitter, adding that registration for the debt exchange would be extended ‘pending further stakeholder engagement.’
The IMF has said its board will approve the deal only if Ghana undergoes comprehensive debt restructuring.
The deadline for the debt swap, initially set for December 19, had previously been extended to December 30 and then to January 16.
Revisions to the initial offer exempted pensioners after a public outcry but later brought in individual bondholders who were originally exempted.
Ghana last week offered to pay holders of its 2023 bond a 2 percent cash fee in exchange for registering for the exchange, but opposition to the programme has remained pervasive.
‘Ghana spent a lot of money solving the problems it had with its banks from the 2014-2015 crisis, so you want to think very carefully to avoid jeopardising them,’ Gregory Smith, emerging markets fund manager at London-based M&G Investments, told Reuters.