Gov’t request for $750m loan from StanChart, standard bank

Government is in talks with Standard Chartered Plc. and Standard Bank Group Ltd. for a bridge loan of $750 million and will repay the facility with the proceeds of a Eurobond sale.

The finance ministry listed the proposal for a syndicated loan in Friday’s parliamentary order papers and said it is intended to “fund or refinance development projects and for liability management,” according to the document.

The facility would be a short-term loan, Mark Assibey-Yeboah, chairman of the finance committee, said by phone.

“This is bridge financing against the Eurobond,” he said, adding that the bond sale may take two or three months to be finalized.

Ghana needs $2 billion in foreign-currency debt to help finance its budget and will take on an additional $1 billion if it’s able to secure loans or securities at lower rates than it’s paying for existing liabilities.

Last month, West Africa’s biggest economy after Nigeria appointed five banks, including StanChart and Johannesburg-based Standard Bank, as lead arrangers for a Eurobond sale, according to people familiar with the matter.