Accra Settles US$700 Million Eurobond Early as IMF Cuts Ghana Debt Risk
Economy · Ghana
Key Facts
- —The stakes Ghana’s debt restructuring covers US$41.2 billion, with 98% done by mid-2026.
- —The date On July 2, 2026, Ghana settled a US$700 million Eurobond early: US$525.2 million principal and US$174.8 million interest.
- —The IMF view The IMF upgraded Ghana’s debt risk from high to moderate in its 2026 Article IV report.
- —The revenue engine Ghana’s exports rose from US$19.1 billion in 2024 to a record US$31.1 billion in 2025, led by gold and cocoa.
- —The catch Only about half of official creditors have signed bilateral deals, leaving residual risk.
A former defaulter now pays its bills early. Accra shows restored trust, but recovery still depends on unfinished talks and a commodity price boom that may not last.
The Scale of the Restructuring
Ghana defaulted on its external commercial debt in December 2022, suspending payments on its Eurobonds. The total public debt brought into restructuring was US$41.2 billion, an enormous burden for an economy of Ghana’s size.
By mid-2026, the IMF reports that US$40.2 billion of that total, or 98%, has been restructured. That breaks down into US$20.3 billion of domestic debt, US$5.1 billion of bilateral official debt and US$13.1 billion of Eurobonds.
A residual US$2.7 billion of other commercial debt is still being worked out. This near-complete record let the IMF upgrade Ghana’s debt sustainability rating from high to moderate risk, in its 2026 Article IV consultation.
A previous warning flag on the rating, called a judgement overlay, was removed too. That is a formal sign that Ghana’s debt trajectory improved faster than the IMF had expected.
Domestic Bondholders and Official Creditors
The Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, or DDEP, was completed in 2023. It made local banks, pension funds and individuals accept losses on their government bonds.
That was politically sensitive, since these institutions anchor the financial system. By early 2026, Ghana had resumed selling local-currency Treasury bonds, and demanding higher yields than before the default.
IMF staff cited that resumed bond sales as evidence that investor confidence was returning. Ghana also sought relief under the G20 Common Framework, a process for the poorest countries facing debt distress.
Those talks ran through an Official Creditor Committee, or OCC, that includes China, India and Saudi Arabia. An early agreement in principle with the OCC was reached in January 2024, setting broad terms for relief.
A full Memorandum of Understanding, or MoU, with the OCC followed by January 2025.
But actual bilateral agreements with individual creditor countries had reached only about half of them, as of May 2026. That gap between a signed MoU and finished bilateral deals is common in these Common Framework cases.
Eurobond Default and Early Repayment
Ghana’s Eurobond restructuring was completed in October 2024 through an exchange offer. Most bondholders received new bonds maturing in 2029 and 2035, with a reduction applied to the old claims.
Since January 2025, Ghana has paid a cumulative US$2.1 billion in Eurobond debt service under the new terms. On July 2, 2026, it fully settled a US$700 million Eurobond payment ahead of schedule.
That payment was US$525.2 million in principal and US$174.8 million in interest. Ghana’s Ministry of Finance announced the early settlement, reported by Zawya on August 3, 2026.
The residual US$2.7 billion of other commercial debt is about 7% of the total public debt in restructuring. An agreement for US$750 million with the African Export-Import Bank, or AFREXIM, a Cairo-based trade lender, has already been signed.
Ghana and its creditors also agreed to cap certain debt payments at US$250 million a year from 2024 to 2026. That cap is meant to stop new borrowing from undoing the gains from restructuring.
The IMF Programme and Its Targets
Ghana’s IMF programme is an Extended Credit Facility, designed for low-income countries facing long-running balance-of-payments problems. The Fifth Review finished in 2025, and the Sixth Review, alongside the 2026 Article IV consultation, concluded in July 2026.
The programme aims for a moderate risk of debt distress by 2028. Its targets are public debt at 55% of GDP and external debt service at 18% of government revenue.
The 2026 debt sustainability analysis found all key indicators now below those thresholds.
Ghana faced a roughly US$14 billion financing gap from 2023 to 2026. Debt relief closed most of it, with the rest from IMF loans.
Ghana has also requested a 36-month Policy Coordination Instrument, a non-financing deal that keeps IMF oversight in place once direct funding ends.
Cedi Stability and the Commodity Boom
The Ghanaian cedi has stabilised since its sharp fall during the 2022 crisis. Exact 2026 spot rates are not covered in the sources used for this story.
Paying the US$700 million Eurobond early shows the central bank had enough foreign currency reserves on hand. Gold and cocoa are driving that reserve build-up.
Ghana’s total export earnings jumped from US$19.1 billion in 2024 to a record US$31.1 billion in 2025. That is a rise of about 63%, with gold alone earning more than cocoa and oil combined.
Ghana is Africa’s largest gold producer, and the Bank of Ghana runs a domestic gold-buying programme that adds to official reserves. Gold has also stayed in demand worldwide as a safe asset in uncertain times, keeping prices high through 2025 and into 2026.
Cocoa earnings recovered too, helped by high world prices and better output than the disease- and smuggling-hit seasons of 2023 and 2024. Ghana’s Cocoa Board, known as COCOBOD, reported US$6.2 billion in cocoa export earnings in the first quarter of 2026 alone.
The result was a US$13.66 billion trade surplus in 2025, according to the Bank of Ghana. That is a sharp turnaround from the deficit years around the default.
That surplus is helping rebuild reserves, but it would shrink quickly if gold or cocoa prices fell.
Is the Recovery Durable?
The IMF’s upgrade to moderate risk is a real milestone, but three things could still slow Ghana down. Talks with remaining creditors are unfinished, and gold and cocoa prices may not stay this high.
Fiscal discipline also still needs to hold. Ghana has kept its IMF programme on track through six reviews, a sign of political commitment to the plan.
Both the resumed bond sales and the early Eurobond payment suggest market access is returning. Even so, the recovery is better described as fragile but credible than as finished.
Much now depends on turning today’s commodity windfall into broader tax revenue and growth. Continued investment in agriculture will matter once the current price cycle eventually turns.
Ghana has moved from crisis management to rebuilding, but the road to 2028 remains narrow.
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