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Lebanon to Default on $1.2 Billion Payment, Seek Restructuring

  • Lebanon to begin debt restructuring talks, economic overhaul
  • Middle Eastern country has one of world’s highest debt loads
Damaged windows on Hamra Street in Beirut, Lebanon.

Damaged windows on Hamra Street in Beirut, Lebanon.

Photographer: Hasan Shaaban/Bloomberg
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Lebanon plans to miss a $1.2 billion Eurobond payment due Monday and seek talks with creditors to restructure its entire $90 billion debt pile, setting the stage for the first default in the crisis-ridden country’s history.

“Our foreign currency reserves have reached a critical and dangerous level, forcing the Lebanese Republic to suspend payment on its March Eurobond,” Prime Minister Hassan Diab said in televised address. “How can a country’s economy grow on borrowing and how can we be truly free while we’re drowning in debt?”