Ghana plans up to $1 bln in Eurobonds by next week – sources

Ghana plans to sell Eurobonds of up to $1 billion by next week to fund the government’s 2016 budget and refinance debt repayments due next year, government sources told Reuters on Monday.

The West African country is expected to launch the bond, its fifth since a 2007 debut, after meetings with investors in London and New York this week, three sources, including one at the central bank and another in the Finance Ministry, said.

“The (Finance) Minister and the Central Bank governor are already in London as part of the roadshow and there could be a deal … this week or next week, depending on market conditions,” one of the sources said.

Finance Minister Seth Terkper said last month that the government appointed Standard Chartered PLC, Citigroup Inc., and Bank of America Corp as advisors for this latest Eurobond transaction.

Ghana exports cocoa, gold, and oil. It is currently under a three-year $918 million assistance programme from the International Monetary Fund to fix fiscal problems triggered by a fall in commodity prices and overspending by government in 2012, during an election year.

The country issued a 15-year $1 billion Eurobond last October with a yield of 10.75 percent, after having first targeted a $1.5 billion bond at 9.5 percent.