Business News of Monday, 31 May 2021
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
2021-05-31
Ken Ofori-Atta, Finance Minister
Ghana’s public debt stock is now ¢304.6 billion.
According to the latest Bank of Ghana (BoG) summary of Economic and Financial Data, it is a rise from ¢3 billion in March 2021.
It is equivalent to 70.2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), lower than the 76.1% registered in December 2020.
The $3 billion Eurobond raised by the country in March 2021 also accounted for this jump in the debt.
In a JoyNews reportage sighted by GhanaWeb, ¢13 billion was added to the country’s debt between December 2020 and March 2021, and at the end of the year 2020, Ghana’s public debt stood at ¢291.6 billion.
The report further stated that Ghana’s external debt stood at ¢141 billion ($24.6 billion) in March 2021, as against ¢141.8 ($24.6 billion). This is approximately 37.7% of GDP.
“Importantly, the financial sector debt went down by ¢100 million to ¢15.2 billion. It is equivalent to 3.5% of GDP.
“The debt could go down if levies collected to settle the financial sector debt is used to settle part of it,” the report added.