The government has created an administrative window to enable bondholders to complete the tender process, following what the Finance Ministry described as “technical glitches”.
The window will last until Friday, February 10, this year to enable all eligible bondholders who were unable to complete the process to do so.
They are to visit the website of the Central Securities Depository (www.csd.com.gh/dde) to complete the process.
Deadline was yesterday
A statement issued by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, in Accra yesterday insisted that the government’s Domestic Debt Exchange (DDE) programme had officially closed yesterday.
However, the ministry explained that it had come to the attention of the government that some bondholders faced technical glitches as they tried to complete the tender processes online.
“As a result, government is providing bondholders an administrative window to complete processes for tendering their bonds, in response to the terms of Exchange as amended, pursuant to the 2nd Amended and Restated Exchange Memorandum,” it said.
“This administrative window ends on Friday, 10th February 2023 at 4 p.m,” it added.
Timetable unchanged
The Finance Minister said the timetable of the Exchange was not affected by the administrative window, except for the announcement date which was now expected to occur on Monday, February 13, this year.
“The settlement of the Exchange is still scheduled for Tuesday, 14th February 2023,” it added.
It reminded bondholders that except as set forth, the terms and conditions of the Exchange were not modified or amended.
It further explained that capitalised terms which had been used but not defined herein had the meaning ascribed to such terms in the 2nd Amended and Restated Exchange Memorandum.
“Government wants to use this opportunity to thank all bondholders who tendered their bonds,” it said.
Background
The government launched a domestic debt exchange programme on Monday, December 5, last year, inviting existing domestic bondholders to exchange them for new ones.
It is targeted at about GH¢137 billion worth of bonds, with the aim of bringing the country debts to sustainable levels of about 55 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).
The terms and design of the bond have been revised a few times, as different groups are engaged to negotiate for better terms that worked for each party.
The government last Friday amended and restated the Memorandum on the “2nd Amended and Restated Exchange Memorandum of the ongoing domestic debt exchange.
The Finance Ministry said it posted yesterday on the invitation website (https://projects.morrowsodali.com/ghanadde), a revised second “Amended and Restated Exchange Memorandum” to reflect minor adjustments and clarifications.
