First local dollar bond is planned

GHANA plans to issue its first domestic investor only dollar bond next month in efforts to deepen the government’s financing streams and bolster the local bond market, Finance Minister Seth Terkper said on Friday. The two-year bond with a target of about $50 million (R707.38m), would be issued through a bookbuilding system to be arranged by Barclays Bank, Stanbic Bank and brokerage firm Strategic African Securities, Terkper said in Accra. “The goal is to issue a dollar bond to meet some of our dollar commitments in the budget, most of which are related to capital expenditure,” Terkper said, adding that the overall objective was to rationalise the local dollar market. The finance ministry has yet to announce a pricing guide for the bond. – Reuters