Bank governor said Zambia had money to pay Need to treat all creditors equally meant it couldn’t (Adds Fitch downgrade)
LUSAKA/JOHANNESBURG Nov 18 (Reuters) - Zambia could have paid a coupon on one of its sovereign dollar bonds last Friday, but chose not to do so due to the need to treat all creditors equally, the copper producer’s central bank governor said on Wednesday.
However, the finance minister later said that the decision had increased the risk of bondholders taking legal action.
Zambia became Africa’s first sovereign pandemic-era default after it failed to pay $42.5 million coupon at the expiry of the grace period on Friday. Holders of Zambian Eurobonds had rejected a government request to defer interest payments until April.
3 Min Read
LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambian authorities formally requested a financing arrangement from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Fund said on Tuesday, to help the southern African copper producer navigate a debt crisis.
FILE PHOTO: Zambia s President Edgar Lungu attends a signing ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, February 8, 2016. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo/File Photo
Zambia became Africa’s first pandemic-era sovereign default last month after it failed to pay a $42.5 million coupon on one of its Eurobonds.
Zambia’s presidency released a photo of President Edgar Lungu meeting with the head of the IMF’s Africa department Abebe Selassie in the capital Lusaka on Tuesday.
Foreign debt chokes Zambia
Share
Heavily-indebted Zambia is “doing everything possible” to clinch a deal with the help of the International Monetary Fund to make good of its recent default of a US$9 billion debt in Europe bonds and US$3 billion to Chinese lenders, APA learnt on Friday.Zambia in November became Africa’s first pandemic-era sovereign defaulter after missing the $40 million payment on one of its $3 billion of Eurobonds.
Zambia found itself in this economic quagmire due to its lack of financial prudence in borrowing funds from the European and Chinese lenders – as opposed to the less expensive lenders from the Breton Woods institutions and the African Development Bank.
End-of-Mission press releases include statements of IMF staff teams that convey preliminary findings after a mission to a country. The views expressed in.
Dette : le FMI et le G20 au chevet de la Zambie lepoint.fr - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lepoint.fr Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.