NEW YORK/LUSAKA – Zambia is working to finalise a long-delayed debt restructuring that would give it “headroom” to attract investment and jump-start economic growth, a senior government official said.
Negotiations to revamp foreign debt have taken longer than expected, and now the Government is waiting on creditors to complete a deal, said Ministry of Information and Media Permanent Secretary Thabo Kawana.
“We’re just asking for space for us to regroup so we have the capacity to grow the economy in order to pay back debt,” he said in an interview in Bloomberg offices in New York on Friday.
Zambia, which became the first African country to default on its debt during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, struck an agreement last year with a group of government lenders, including China and France, to rework US$6.3 billion in loans. It restarted negotiations this week with investors holding about US$3 billion of Eurobonds, according to people familiar with the matter….https://enews.daily-mail.co.zm/
Zambia seeks ‘headroom’ in debt restructuring to grow economy
- March 25, 2024
- 6:45 am
