Mr Ken Ofori Atta, Minister of Finance, says he is optimistic that Ghana will reach an agreement with its official creditors by next week. Ghana is seeking to get its official creditors to restructure about $5.4 billion which makes up about 27 per cent of the country's $20 billion external debt. This was one of the conditions for the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) executive board to approve the second tranche of a $600 million payout under the Fund's $3 billion bailout program. Speaking to journalists at the Securities Exchange Commission's Capital Market Conference, the Minister stated that a continuous evaluation based on comparable treatment was being conducted to ensure that creditors were treated fairly by the restructuring. He said discussions on the cut-off date, the date beyond which new loans would not be restructured, was also a major issue that would be addressed among creditors in the coming days. 'I think everybody is looking at the comparability of treatment in there and China and Fra nce certainly are co-chairs of the Official Creditors Committee (OCC) and so they have a good impact on what will happen,' he said. Mr Ofori-Atta stated that the government had fulfilled its side of the engagement and was now awaiting the OCC's formal answer, as it would be comfortable with whatever cut-off date proposed by the creditors. Source: Ghana News Agency