Financial Mega Firm BlackRock, China Both Blamed For Slowing Zambia’s Debt Restructuring Process

Exterior of the New York City headquarters of the investment management firm BlackRock. Image via Jim Henderson (Creative Commons)

Zambia’s burgeoning debt crisis is once again in the spotlight as stakeholders exchange blame over who’s responsible for blocking a comprehensive deal to restructure the country’s $17.3 billion of external debt.

Anti-poverty activists are accusing BlackRock, the $10 trillion asset management goliath, of refusing to budge in terms of rescheduling repayments on the $220 million of Zambian debt that the firm owns.

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