Ghana’s international reserves up to $5.7bn after IMF deal
The country’s gross international reserves have increased to US$5.7 billion after sealing the US$ 3 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund.
These are highlights from data made available by the Bank of Ghana.
“With the approval of the IMF-supported programme and receipt of the first tranche of the disbursement, the gross international reserves have increased to $5.7 billion as of Friday 19 May 2023 equivalent to 2.6 months of import cover”, Govenor of the BoG, Dr. Ernest Addison said on Monday during the Monetary Policy Committee Press Conference.
Gross International Reserves at the end of March 2023 stood at US$5.1 billion, equivalent to 2.4 months of import cover, compared with the end-December 2022 stock position of US$6.2 billion, equivalent to 2.7 months of import cover.
Gross International Reserves, excluding oil funds, encumbered and pledged assets, stood at US$1.4 billion.
Net International Reserves as of March 2023 stood at US$2.1 billion.
The Committee assessed that recent approval of the US$3.0 billion ECF arrangement has reinforced recovery efforts at restoring macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability.
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has said the approval of Ghana’s US$ 3billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) signals an era of renewed investor confidence in the country’s economy.
The IMF board on Wednesday, May 17 approved the $3 billion bailout for Ghana and released the first $600 million tranche on Friday, May 19 as the country readies to use the three-year extended credit facility to achieve macro-economic stability.
The first of the seven tranches according to government will be used for budget support and to help stabilize the cedi.
The Ghanaian economy has been faced with some critical ailing conditions for some time now including rising inflation, a depreciating currency, high budget deficit amongst others.
Ghana’s program with the IMF is based on the government’s Post COVID-19 Program for Economic Growth (PC-PEG), which aims to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability and includes wide-ranging reforms to build resilience and lay the foundation for stronger and more inclusive growth.
Source: Ghana Business
