The registration deadline for Ghana’s domestic debt exchange has once more been extended, this time to January 31, according to Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta. Days before reaching a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $3 billion rescue package, the crisis-hit country launched the debt swap plan at the beginning of December.
The debt swap’s initial Dec. 19 deadline had previously been pushed back to Dec. 30 and then to Jan. 16.
Following a public outcry, changes to the initial offer gave pensioners exemptions, but later included specific bondholders who had been initially exempt.
Investors worry that the program won’t be able to draw enough participants without new terms. Ghana offered to give 2023 bondholders a 2% cash payment in exchange for registering for the exchange, but opposition to the programme has remained pervasive.
