Ghana, together with six other African countries,have accounted for more than 75 percent of the sovereign debt issued so far in Africa, the World Bank has said.
The other countries are South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Angola, Zambia, and Kenya.
According to the World Bank, sovereign debt issuance increased from an average of US$3.5 billion in 2010–13 to US$6.2 billion in 2014-17, adding issuance has been on fairly favorable terms- the weighted average coupon is 6.5 percent, and the average maturity is 20 years.
Ghana has issued a total of five sovereign bonds, totaling about US$4.5 billion since it issued its first debt instrument in 2007. Four of the bonds were issued between 2010 and 2016. However, the first sovereign debt issued in 2007 has been retired.
The highest yield is 9.25 percent from the 2016 euro bond with a tenor of five years. But the lowest yield is 7.875 percent from the 2013 euro-bond with a tenor of 10 years.
The World Bank Africa Pulse October 2017 report emphasized that “After enjoying a period of favourable external conditions for several years, countries in the region could well confront a tightening in financial conditions due to the move to normalization of monetary policy in advanced countries, a decrease in other sources of funding, and rising sovereign risks in the region.â€
It, however, noted that the international bond market conditions are still bullish; though it is questionable whether these conditions will hold in the future.