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China Is Now a Key Player in Zambia’s Worsening Debt Crisis

by Eric Olander
Zambia's President Edgar Lungu shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping before their bilateral meeting at the Great Hall of the People on September 1, 2018. Nicolas ASFOURI / POOL / AFP

We’ll know next week if Zambia is going to be the first African country this year to default on part of its debt, or if it’ll get the repayment reprieve it’s been asking for. It’s clear that the country’s financial fate now largely rests with China.

Bondholders will meet some time before next Wednesday, when a $42 million Zambian debt payment is due, to discuss whether they should grant Lusaka a six-month interest payment holiday on $3 billion of Eurobond notes. One group of bondholders has already rejected that request and now the remainder will meet to decide how to proceed.

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