Gov’t Protests Moody’s Debt Downgrade

Ghana will appeal a debt downgrade by Moody’s Investors Service, saying it was “gravely concerned” and that the ratings company left out key data to arrive at its decision.

Moody’s lowered Ghana’s long-term debt one step to Caa1 from B3 on Feb. 4, citing an increasingly difficult task the government faces in addressing its liquidity and debt challenges amid weak revenue generation constraints.

The downgrade omitted “key material information from the assumptions driving some of Moody’s forecasts and projections such as the 2022 budget expenditure control measures, 2022 upfront fiscal adjustments and inaccurate balance of payment statistics,” Ghana’s finance ministry said Sunday, calling the move “an institutionalized bias” against African economies.

Ghana’s dollar-denominated notes maturing in 2026 were 1.7 cents lower at 87.7 cents on the dollar in Asia on Monday, while debt maturing in 2032 dropped 1.2 cent to 75.8 cents.

Fitch Ratings last month downgraded Ghana to ‘B-’ from ‘B’ saying the government of West Africa’s second-largest economy has lost access to international capital markets, which could hinder its ability to meet medium-term financing.