GHANA was likely to list a mining royalties fund in January as part of fund-raising which will also include raising a Eurobond, said Bloomberg News.
Citing the African country’s finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, the newswire said the listing had been earmarked for as early as December, but would probably proceed, in Accra and London during January.
With general elections due to take place next year, the country is looking to finalise 2020 budgets which allows for fresh offshore debt of as much as $3bn. Ghana hasn’t yet stated, however, the size of its Eurobond. The mineral royalties company IPO is expected to raise $750m, said Bloomberg News. Ghana has become the largest gold producer in Africa.
The proposed re-start of the Obuasi gold mine owned by AngloGold Ashanti, was expected to add 350,000 to 450,000 ounces a year to Ghana’s total gold output which at 4.8 million ounces in 2018 eclipsed South Africa’s output of 4.2 million oz for the first time.
In addition to AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields is also shifting its attention to Ghana where mining is easier technically and from a regulatory point of view. Another miner, Newmont Mining, has a long established position in the West African country.
Ghana’s economy expanded by more than 6% annually since 2017 on the back of additional oil exports. The government will target growth of 6.8% next year and a budget deficit of 4.7% of gross domestic product, below the legislated ceiling of 5%.
