The International Monetary Fund’s head of strategy, Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, will travel to Beijing next week for meetings with Chinese officials as part of a push for progress on Zambia’s debt restructuring.
This comes as Zambia’s Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane told Reuters that his government hopes to complete the restructuring of its $15 billion of external debt by the end of the first quarter next year.
Musokotwane said his government is “in active engagement” with China, its largest bilateral creditor, to move the process forward. Beijing meanwhile requested further clarification of the terms underlying Zambia’s restructuring deal with the IMF.
Chinese foot-dragging isn’t Zambia’s only problem. A large share of its debt is to Western commercial lenders like BlackRock, which has been a major block to progress.
Pazarbasioglu said she was heartened by Glencore’s recent participation in Chad’s restructuring process that “even the most difficult private sector participants” will eventually play ball.
SUGGESTED READING:
- Reuters: IMF Strategy Chief Heads to China, to Focus on Speeding Up Debt Treatments by Andrea Shalal
- Reuters: Zambia on Track for Debt Restructuring Next Quarter – Finance Minister by Rachel Savage and Bhargav Acharya
