Zambian President Says China and India Signed Debt-Revamp Deal

China and India, the last two nations needed to sign a deal to restructure Zambia’s debt, have finally done so, President Hakainde Hichilema said Saturday.  

“We’re getting there,” he said on Zambian state-owned television. “Now we are turning our attention to the private creditors that we hope to be able to put to bed soon.”  

Zambia reached a memorandum of understanding with official creditors to restructure $6.3 billion of debt in October. The government is in talks with other creditors, including the holders of $3 billion in outstanding eurobonds. The discussions have been deadlocked since November, when the Official Creditors Committee — co-chaired by France and China — rejected a deal in principle the administration reached with those investors. 

The southern African nation signed up to use the so-called Common Framework to restructure its debts three years ago, after defaulting in November 2020. 

This article originally appeared on BNN Bloomberg

Image: Bloomberg