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☆ U.S. military conducts first maritime drills with West African forces
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Cooper Inveen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SOGAKOPE, Ghana, March 16 (Reuters) - The West African troops silently pulled their small boats up to a rust-stained ferry and swarmed up its sides on grappling hooks to disarm the mock kidnappers onboard. The drill in Ghana's Volta river on Saturday was carried out during the first ever maritime exercises organised by the U.S. military under its long-running Flintlock programme to bolster the skills of West African forces. Around 350 troops took part in the drills including servicemen from Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria on the Gulf of Guinea. Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing has spread along West Africa's coasts, sapping an estimated $9.4 billion per year through illicit financial flows, according to a 2022 report by the Financial Transparency Coalition of non-governmental organisations. Of the top 10 companies they found involved in IUU fishing in the region, eight were Chinese and a third of all vessels sported Chinese flags, it said.

Relations between Russia and the U.S. have become more hostile since Moscow invaded Ukraine over a year ago, and Washington and its allies oppose Russian influence in West Africa. This has worried Western governments and the United Nations who say the move has led to a spike in violence. Mali, whose government took power in a 2021 military coup, has previously said Russian forces are not mercenaries but trainers helping local troops with equipment from Russia. The UK, Germany and other nations are pulling troops from a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali as security worsens. Armed groups have a foothold in coastal countries including Benin and Togo and threaten economic leaders Ivory Coast and Ghana.

☆ China says its official bilateral loans are less than 5% of Ghana debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 2 (Reuters) - China's official bilateral loans involving Ghana account for less than 5% of the West African country's total debt, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday. Multilateral and commercial debt account for the vast majority of Ghana's external debt, ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing. Germany's finance minister recently singled out China during a visit to Ghana, as he called on countries that have lent to the embattled nation to form a creditor committee quickly to help it restructure its debt. China has been consistent in criticising multilateral lenders for not taking haircuts on loans extended to debtor countries while Beijing is being asked to do so on credit it has extended bilaterally. Ghana owes China $1.7 billion, according to the International Institute of Finance, a financial services trade association focused on emerging markets.

☆ Ghana's finance ministry: debt talks with China 'cordial and fruitful'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ACCRA, March 2 (Reuters) - Ghana's finance ministry said on Thursday that a Chinese delegation had ended a three-day visit to discuss Ghana's request for the restructuring of the $1.9 billion debt it owes China. The ministry said in a statement that the Chinese delegation came to Accra ahead of an upcoming Ghanaian mission to China and that discussions had been "highly cordial and fruitful". External debt was $29.2 billion at the end of November 2022, according to central bank data. China's official bilateral loans involving Ghana account for less than 5% of the West African country's total debt, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday. ($1 = 12.5000 Ghanian cedi)Reporting by Christian Akorlie; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Estelle ShirbonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Female-owned farms and companies are growing Ghana's taste for coffee
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

As the women worked, Tamakloe walked among them with a device to test the coffee beans' moisture content. Today, Bean Masters coffee is mostly sold in bulk to high-end restaurants and hotels. But Tamakloe aims to expand her production of retail-sized bags this year to make Bean Masters available to all kinds of consumers. At Kozo, an Afro-Asian fusion restaurant in Accra, Tamakloe and the staff sipped espressos made with Bean Masters coffee. The owner visited Pagniw's farm with Tamakloe in 2021, and has exclusively stocked Bean Masters ever since.

☆ Body of Ghana soccer player Atsu arrives home in Accra
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] The body of late Ghanaian soccer player, Christian Atsu Twasam, 31, who died in the earthquake in Turkey, arrives at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana. REUTERS/Francis KokorokoACCRA, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The body of Ghana winger Christian Atsu was flown home to Accra on Sunday evening, the day after he was found dead under a collapsed building in southern Turkey. Atsu had been missing since the Feb. 6 earthquake following the collapse of an apartment building in Hatay. "We hoped against hope, every day that passed, we prayed and prayed. "We would like to express our deepest condolences to his wife and children, the family, loved ones and the football community," the Ghana Football Association said on Saturday.

☆ Ghana bilateral lenders in talks to form official creditor committee
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Jorgelina Do Rosario | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Ghana's bilateral lenders are discussing the formation of an official creditor committee, a first step needed to engage in debt relief talks for the crisis-hit country, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The Paris Club of creditor nations has contacted other bilateral creditors, such as China, to engage on forming the committee and deciding who would chair it, one of the sources said. China is Ghana's single biggest bilateral creditor with $1.7 billion of debt, while Ghana owes $1.9 billion to Paris Club members, according to data from the International Institute of Finance. COMMON FRAMEWORK TALKSAn official creditor committee is a key step for Ghana to formally seek financing assurances from bilateral creditors stating they are willing to enter a debt rework process. Ghana has said it hopes for a rapid debt overhaul, though other countries undergoing common framework treatment have faced slow progress.

☆ Ghana seeks Indian investment in oil and gas sector
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Aker ASA FollowBENGALURU, India, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Ghana, which is struggling with its worst economic crisis in a generation, is seeking Indian investment in its oil and gas sector, William Owuraku Aidoo, its deputy minister of energy, said on Wednesday. "There are some opportunities in Ghana specially in the oil and gas front. We have some oil blocks available and we came here hoping to attract Indian investments," Aidoo told Reuters after a meeting with Indian oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri at India Energy Week. He said Ghana will award exploration licences through direct negotiations if Indian companies are interested. Apart from offering exploration opportunities, Ghana is also seeking Indian support to build refineries of about 300,000 barrels per day.

☆ Former Newcastle winger Atsu missing after Turkey earthquake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ACCRA, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Ghana international winger Christian Atsu is among those missing after the collapse of an apartment building in Hatay, Turkey, following Monday's huge earthquake. Hatayspor vice president Mustafa Ozat told Turkish TV station Play Spor: "Christian Atsu and (club sporting director) Taner Savut are still under the rubble." Atsu, 31, played in the Premier League for Newcastle United and Everton, on loan from Chelsea, but joined Hatayspor in September. Newcastle, who Atsu helped to promotion from the Championship in the 2016/17, tweeted they were "praying for some positive news". "We pray for Ghana International Christian Atsu and victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria," the Ghana Football Association tweeted.

☆ Ghana govt and capital market operators agree on domestic debt exchange terms
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ACCRA, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Ghana's government and the Ghana Securities Industry Association (GSIA) have reached an understanding on the terms of participation by capital market operators in the country's domestic debt exchange (DDE) programme, they said on Friday. Under the new agreement, capital market operators will participate in the exchange programme on the same "improved terms" agreed with banks earlier this week. "GSIA believes this agreement is necessary to restore market normalcy and confidence in the economy," the statement said. Ghana needs around 80% of bondholders to sign up for the DDE program. Reporting by Cooper Inveen Writing by Sofia Christensen Editing by Louise Heavens, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ghana's balance of payments deficit worsens to $3.64 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ACCRA, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Ghana's balance of payments further deteriorated to a deficit of $3.64 billion in December from a $3.4 billion deficit the previous quarter, central bank data showed on Saturday. The West African nation is facing an economic crisis that saw consumer inflation rise to 54.1% last month. The cedi currency has depreciated around 50% annually, and interest payments on government debt have swelled to between 70% and 100% of GDP. Recent balance of payments woes have been largely driven by a sharp reversal in capital flows, with Ghana's capital account deficit having worsened to $2.18 billion in December from $1.64 billion in September. At the same time last year, Ghana had a capital account surplus of more than $3.3 billion.

☆ G20 creditors on board for Ghana debt relief talks - Paris Club
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Jan 19 (Reuters) - All member countries of the G20 group of economic powers are on board for a restructuring of Ghana's debt and Paris Club members are ready to take the first step toward forming a creditor committee, an official from the Paris Club said on Thursday. Ghana last week requested a restructuring of debt it owes to other governments, becoming the fourth country after Chad, Ethiopia and Zambia to do so under a G20 Common Framework. We know that all the G20 members are committed to undertake the debt treatment under the Common Framework," the Paris Club official told journalists. Forming a creditor committee took a couple months for previous cases, however the official said the Paris Club members were all ready to do so for Ghana and hoped it could be done in a month. Reporting by Leigh Thomas; editing Tassilo Hummel, Jason Neely and Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ MTN Ghana hit with bill of $773 mln for back taxes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, Jan 13 (Reuters) - The Ghanaian subsidy of South African mobile operator MTN Group (MTNJ.J) has received a bill for back taxes of around $773 million, including penalties and interest charges, the parent company said on Friday. The Ghana Revenue Authority issued MTN Ghana (MTNGH.GH) with the bill after auditing it for the years 2014 to 2018 and inferring that the company under declared its revenue by about 30% during the period, MTN said in a statement. The carrier, which has a presence in 19 countries in Africa and the Middle East, said it disputes the "accuracy and basis" of the assessment and that it would fight it. "MTN Ghana believes that the taxes due have been paid during the period under assessment and has resolved to defend MTN Ghana's position on the Assessment," the company said. Reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

REUTERS/Francis KokorokoLONDON/ACCRA, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Ghana requested on Tuesday to restructure its bilateral debt under the common framework platform supported by the Group of 20 major economies, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters. Ghana's debt restructuring under the common framework aims to include non-Paris club members, such as China in debt relief talks. Reuters reported first on Thursday that Ghana was seeking debt treatment under the G20 programme. Some bondholders said Ghana opting to go down the common framework route put the prospect of a swift resolution further out of reach. "With the common framework and the poor track record on the timeline for that, it just makes things more uncertain," said Anders Faergemann, portfolio managers at PineBridge Investments.

LONDON/ACCRA, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Ghana is poised to request debt relief via the G20 Common Framework programme and has sought reassurances that the negotiations can be expedited before proceeding, sources told Reuters. In December, Ghana launched a domestic debt exchange and later said it would default on nearly all of its $28.4 billion of external debts. If it received such assurances, the government would quickly sign onto the Common Framework, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Another source with knowledge of Ghana's debt restructuring said it was hard to see any other outcome for Ghana than signing up to the Common Framework as they have left themselves no other options. The Common Framework, designed to allow for speedy debt reworks, has been widely criticised for its glacial progress.

☆ How 2022 shocked, rocked and rolled global markets
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The main drivers have been the war in Ukraine, combined with rampant inflation as global economies broke out of the pandemic, but China remained shackled by it. U.S. Treasuries and German bonds, the benchmarks of global borrowing markets and traditional go-to assets in troubled times, lost 17% and 25% respectively in dollar terms. Ten-year Treasury yields jumped to 1.8% from less than 1.5%, knocking 5% off MSCI's world stocks index (.MIWD00000PUS) in January alone. The Fed has delivered an eye-watering 400bps of rate hikes and the European Central Bank, a record 250bps, despite saying this time last year it was unlikely to budge. "What has gone in global markets this year has been traumatic," said EFG Bank Chief Economist and ex-Deputy Governor of Ireland's central bank, Stefan Gerlach.

The Vintage Gala, as 23-year old founders Prince Quist and James Edem Doe Dartey dubbed it, brought together a movement of young vintage enthusiasts pushing back against the global fast fashion industry by encouraging their peers to shop secondhand. "The idea is just to inspire everybody to thrift vintage, because secondhand goods aren't second class stuff," Dartey added. Ghana receives around 15 million items of used clothing each week from Western countries and China, offloaded in bulk, often at negligible prices and questionable quality. Much of it passes through Accra's Kantamanto, one of the largest garment markets on the continent, where bales of used clothes are sold based on the expected quality of the garments wrapped up inside. "Remove the whole notion that you only wear vintage when you are poor, or you only wear thrifted stuff when you don't have money," said creative Myra Davis outside the Vintage Gala event.

☆ Ghana again extends domestic debt exchange registration deadline
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( Cooper Inveen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Francis KokorokoACCRA, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Ghana has further extended the deadline to register for its domestic debt exchange to Jan. 16 in order to "secure internal approvals" from the financial sector, the Finance Ministry said in a statement late on Saturday. The ministry also announced a change to the debt exchange, with eight additional instruments to be created. Ghana announced a domestic debt exchange program earlier this month and said that external restructuring was being negotiated with creditors. The ministry had previously extended the registration deadline for the domestic debt exchange to Dec. 30, from Dec. 19 originally. The Finance Ministry said on Saturday that it expects to reach a domestic debt restructuring settlement no later than Jan. 31.

☆ Ghana announces external debt payment suspension, slipping into default
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ACCRA, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Ghana's finance ministry said on Monday it was suspending debt service payments on certain categories of external debt including Eurobonds, commercial loans and most bilateral debt, amid the worst economic crisis in a generation. Ghana had already announced a domestic debt exchange programme and on Tuesday said it had reached a $3 billion staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund. Public debt stood at GHS467.4 billion ($55 billion) in September, according to the most recent central bank figures, 42% of which was domestic. The government "stands ready to engage in discussions with all of its external creditors to make Ghana's debt sustainable", the finance ministry said in the statement. Ghana's external bonds, which are trading at a deeply distressed level of 31-37 cents in the dollar, slipped with the 2051 bond losing 0.4 cents, Tradeweb data showed.

☆ Burkina Faso summons Ghanaian ambassador over Wagner allegations
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

OUAGADOUGOU, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Burkina Faso summoned the Ghanaian ambassador on Friday morning for "explanations" after Ghana's president alleged that Burkina Faso had hired the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Burkina Faso's foreign ministry said. Burkina Faso has now entered into an arrangement to go along with Mali in employing the Wagner forces there," Akufo-Addo said, adding that it was a distressing development for Ghana. Akufo-Addo also alleged that Burkina Faso had offered Wagner a mine as payment. In a statement issued after the meeting with the ambassador, Burkina Faso's foreign ministry said it had "expressed disapproval" about the statements made by the Ghanaian president. Burkina Faso also recalled its ambassador from Ghana for a meeting, the spokesperson said.

☆ Payments company Wise suspends Ghana cedi transfers amid volatility
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Cooper Inveen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ACCRA, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Cross-border payments company Wise (WISEa.L) has suspended transfers in Ghana's cedi currency after a rapid appreciation against the dollar this week made it costlier to move money to the West African country, a Wise spokesperson told Reuters on Friday. Ghana, once considered a rising star among emerging market economies, is today facing a generational debt crisis. A spokesperson for London-based Wise said that cedi functions, which were suspended Thursday, would be restored "as soon as the situation has stabilised" and that only a small number of transfers were affected. "That said... we’ve seen the central bank buy dollars from the open market to shore up its reserves," Akoto said. Reporting by Cooper Inveen; Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Louise Heavens and Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Burkina Faso aware of the dangers of Wagner force -France
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( John Irish | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Speaking to reporters alongside U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday, Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo alleged that Burkina Faso had hired the mercenaries. Burkina Faso has now entered into an arrangement to go along with Mali in employing the Wagner forces there," he said. Prime minister of Burkina Faso in the last 10 days has been in Moscow. Officials from Burkina Faso did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Burkina Faso has not said publicly that it would consider hiring Wagner mercenaries.

☆ Africa’s World Cup: how a continent that usually underperforms finally got it right
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Alasdair Howorth | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —After the first round of games at the World Cup, an all too familiar script looked to be playing out for African football fans. Zaire was the first sub-Saharan nation to participate at the World Cup. But not only is this the most affordable World Cup for Africans, it is also the most accessible. It was a very big challenge for Brazil [in 2014].”Mohamed Kudus was the breakout star of Ghana's World Cup, scoring a brace against South Korea. That investment, along with a crop of stellar talent and Africa’s best coach, has catapulted Morocco to the World Cup semifinals.

☆ The US may have lost in the World Cup, but soccer is more popular than ever in America
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Harry Enten | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +36 min

The Atlas Lions made history as the first African team to reach a World Cup semifinal. They made history as the first all-female refereeing crew for a men's World Cup match. It was Morocco's first World Cup win since 1998 — and its third-ever at the tournament. Less spoken about is that they also rate better on television than the men do in the World Cup. We’ll just have to wait and see, though with the US, Canada and Mexico hosting the 2026 World Cup, soccer isn’t going away anytime soon.

The cedi has lost more than 50% of its value this year , pushing up the cost of Ghana's external debt. Interest payments alone absorb between 70 and 100% of the government's revenuesHOW BIG IS GHANA'S DEBT? Ghana's public debt was 467.4 billion cedis ($37.4 billion) in September, of which 42% was domestic debt, according to the most recent central bank figures released last month. Ghana's debt-to-GDPWHO OWNS GHANA'S DEBT? The fund is yet to comment on Ghana's debt sustainability or domestic bond exchange plans.

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