Tag: debt
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It’s Eerily Quiet 24 Hours Before Zambia’s Bondholders Reveal Their Decision on Whether to Restructure the Country’s Debt
The Zambia External Bondholder Committee, a coalition of private creditors that own around 40% of Zambia's Eurobond debt, is expected to announce tomorrow whether they will approve the government's request for a six-month repayment delay on $3 billion of Eurobond notes. ...
Africa, You’re On Your Own
Back in March, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was the first leader to sound the alarm that Africa's economies were "staring at an abyss" due to the financial crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. He rightly predicted that without urgent, large-scale assistance, ...
The Nested Tragedies of Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway
Recently we've seen two new pieces of research on Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway (SGR,) which make for fascinating – if depressing – reading. They show that the project was doomed from the start by corruption and bad dealing from ...
Kenya’s Spiraling Debt Crisis Worsens as the Cost of Chinese Loans Mount, Currency Weakens and Exports Soften
Kenya is rapidly becoming the next flashpoint in the Africa debt crisis amid a dramatic increase in borrowing that threatens to submerge the economy. The Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) warned on Friday that the country's ballooning debt is ...
Kenyan Newspaper Pleads With Government to Stop Borrowing Money
The influential financial newspaper Business Daily published a sharply-worded editorial on Wednesday that blasted the government for taking on more debt amid the country's worsening economic crisis. "The implications of the rapid accumulation of debt are stark. The rising repayments are ...
Dear Mr. Soon-To-Be President-Elect…
It's probably too early to congratulate you since they're still counting ballots in the last few states that'll likely put you over the top. But since the odds now seem in your favor, I thought this would be a good time to share a few ideas about ...
Reuters: Bondholders to Reject Zambia’s Request for Debt Repayment Delay
A source close to the Zambia External Bondholder Committee, a coalition that holds the bulk of Zambia's $3 billion of Eurobonds, told Reuters that investors plan to vote against the government's request for a six-month repayment delay when the group convenes on November 13th.
How Does China’s Lending to Africa Compare to That of Other Emerging Market Countries?
London-based emerging markets strategist Gregory Smith posted an interesting thread on Twitter today that compared China's lending patterns in Africa to those of other emerging markets, particularly from the Persian Gulf region. Using World Bank charts, he showed that Chinese lending ...
China Responds to Accusations That It’s Not Doing Enough To Help Resolve Zambia’s Escalating Debt Crisis
The Chinese government is responding to critics who charge that Beijing is not doing enough to resolve the rapidly escalating debt crisis in Africa, especially in Zambia. “We have signed debt-relief agreements with the majority of countries that have requested it, and are holding consultations with the remaining ...
“China Needs to Increase Transparency,” says Ministry of Commerce Researcher
China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) blamed heightened nationalism, protectionism and populism among U.S. and European governments for the growing lack of trust among Africa's international creditors. "While China is actively promoting the implementation of the G20 "debt relief initiative," Western countries ...
Africans Borrowed Heavily From China and Other Bilateral Creditors. Now That Debt is Getting Away From Them
Former U.S. Treasury official and current Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Brad Setser, is providing some of the sharpest, most insightful commentaries on the worsening debt crisis in Africa and how both China and the DSSI are contributing to the problem. ...
Why the “Professional Pessimists” Are Wrong About Africa’s Economic Future
Africa's economic landscape today looks bleak. Debt levels, unemployment rates and bankruptcies are all on the rise across much of the continent. And it doesn't look like there's going to be much help from the international community to weather the worst ...