Economics
Zambia Creditors Must Cancel Two-Thirds of Debt, Groups Say
- Nation became first in Africa to default during the pandemic
- Government is seeking to restructure as much as $17 billion
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Zambia’s creditors would have to take losses of about two-thirds if the country is to meet the International Monetary Fund’s requirements for a debt restructuring, according to a study by groups advocating for debt forgiveness.
The southern African nation, which became the continent’s first pandemic-era defaulter in 2020, has capacity to repay about between $2.8 billion and $3.5 billion of debt over the next 14 years, according to the study published on Friday by an alliance of local activist organizations and the Jubilee Debt Campaign U.K. About $7 billion would have to be written off, implying a haircut of between 64% and 71% for private and bilateral lenders, the groups said.