Ghana mulls issuing $50 billon in plan to wean country off aid

(Reuters) – Ghana may issue a 100-year US$50 billion bond as part of a long-term industrialisation plan that aims to wean the West African country off aid, its president said during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The government, in power since January 2017, has said it needs about US$2 billion a year for infrastructure spending. Ghana, which exports cocoa, gold and oil, is in its final year of a US$918 million International Monetary Fund (IMF) credit program.

President Nana Akufo-Addo said during a meeting with Xi in Beijing on Sunday: “The Ministry of Finance and economists in Ghana are looking at floating a US$50 billion century bond. This will provide us with the resources to finance our infrastructural and industrial development.”

Deputy Finance Finister Charles Adu Boahen told reporters discussions on the bond were at an early stage and that the plan was to raise the amount over a period and possibly in different currencies based on investor appetite and planned uses.

Akufo-Addo’s delegation also finalized a deal with Sinohydro Corp Ltd to provide US$2 billion for government road and railway projects in exchange for refined Ghanaian bauxite, Nkrumah said.

The two countries also finalized a deal between China Harbor Engineering Company and Africa-focused private equity firm Helios on building a US$350 million liquefied natural gas terminal in Ghana’s eastern Tema port.