Laos Weighs Debt-to-Equity Swap With China to Avoid a Default
- Nation owes China about half of its total external debt
- Acting Central Bank Governor speaks to Bloomberg in interview
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Laos, which has racked up more debt than it can repay, could explore swapping debt for equity with its biggest creditor China to avoid an eventual default, the Southeast Asian nation’s central bank chief said.
The country owes China about half of its total external debt, the Bank of Lao P.D.R’s Acting Governor Vathana Dalaloy said in a Bloomberg interview in the capital city of Vientiane on Thursday. The government has been in negotiations with Beijing to secure deferrals, a matter that’s been handled on a year-to-year basis, she said.