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Ghana on Cusp of Debt Default as Grace Period Winds Down

Ghana restructuring about $30 billion of its $46 billion debt
Nation becomes fourth nation in Africa to default on Eurobond

Informal vendors on a footbridge at the Kaneshie Market Complex in Accra. — Informal vendors on a footbridge at the Kaneshie Market Complex in Accra.
Photographer: Nipah Dennis/Bloomberg

By

Moses Mozart Dzawu,

Selcuk Gokoluk and

Priscila Azevedo Rocha

February 17, 2023, 6:34 PM UTCUpdated onFebruary 17, 2023, 7:19 PM UTC

Ghana is on the cusp of a default as the grace period on a $40.6 million coupon due on its dollar bond maturing in 2026 expires at the end of Friday.

The coupon was originally due on Jan. 18 and is the first since the West African nation unilaterally suspended payments on most of its external debt in December.