18 Days and Counting Until Zambia’s D-Day (aka Debt Day)

In less than three weeks, a group of Zambian bondholders, mostly in New York and London, will reconvene to vote on whether or not to approve Lusaka’s request for a six-month repayment holiday on about $3 billion of Eurobond notes that are coming due.

These private creditors have made their demands to the government clear: give us a plan that clearly shows the extent of Zambian debt to Chinese creditors and provide us with assurances that the International Monetary Fund has agreed to step in with a debt restructuring program.  Most importantly, bondholders want to ensure the principle of “equal treatment” is applied to all creditors.