Bond Market News

Ghana was downgraded to RD (Restricted Default) from C by Fitch. It also downgraded the rating of the country’s $1bn dollar bond due January 2026 to D from C and withdrew its rating due to a default on its coupons. Besides the default, Fitch said that the sovereign has announced a moratorium on its bonds and thus a C rating is not relevant, given that they will be included in the common framework external debt restructuring. All its bonds are likely to be in default in due course. On 10 January 2023, Ghana asked creditors for a debt restructuring under the G20 common framework. As of end 3Q 2022, its external debt amounted to $28.4bn, of which 46% was in Eurobonds. Fitch notes that the government aims to reduce debt sufficient enough for the IMF/World Bank to conclude that the risk of debt distress is moderate.

Ghana’s dollar bonds were flat at 37 cents on the dollar.