Paris Club Sees Private Creditor Relief Varying in G-20 Plan

Paris Club Sees Private Creditor Relief Varying in G-20 Plan

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Debt relief provided by private creditors for the world’s poorest nations under a Group of 20 restructuring plan will hinge on each borrower’s situation and might not necessarily reduce any money owed, according to the chair of the Paris Club. Emmanuel Moulin, the head of the French Treasury, said in an interview on Wednesday that debtor countries participating in the so-called G-20 common framework will need to get private…

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Kenya Could Lose Port on Default of China Exim Loan, Nation Says

Kenya Could Lose Port on Default of China Exim Loan, Nation Says

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – China’s Export-Import Bank could take over East Africa’s biggest port should Kenya fail to repay a loan taken to finance its new railway, Nation newspaper said, citing a report by the country’s auditor-general. The Chinese bank agreed in 2014 to lend Kenya 90 percent of the $3.8 billion it required for the railway’s first phase linking the port city of Mombasa to the capital, Nairobi. The East African nation secured another…

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Government debt at $14 trillion at end-2017, equivalent to 48% of GDP

Government debt at $14 trillion at end-2017, equivalent to 48% of GDP

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) -The Institute of International Finance indicated that the level of general government debt in emerging markets (EMs) reached a record-high of $14 trillion at the end of 2017, which is equivalent to 48% of aggregate EM GDP. It noted that government debt in EMs grew by $6 trillion since the end of 2010, with significant increases in the public debt levels of Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, South Africa and Ukraine. Also, it pointed out that government debt…

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Ghana Bond: A Guide to the 19.5% Debt Ghana Can’t Get Yield Hunters to Buy

Ghana Bond: A Guide to the 19.5% Debt Ghana Can’t Get Yield Hunters to Buy

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana is having a hard time selling $820 million of local-currency debt. They aren’t sovereign notes, which is part of the problem. The second-biggest economy in West Africa attracted just a quarter of the 3.6 billion cedis of 10-year bonds up for sale last week at about 19.5 percent. Investors were willing to take on 2.4 billion cedis of seven-year notes paying just half a percentage point lower. The…

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Bond Winners of Yesteryear Not Looking So Fantastic in 2017

Bond Winners of Yesteryear Not Looking So Fantastic in 2017

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa ) – Developing-nation debt traders who stuck with 2016’s top securities took a hit this year. That’s because last year’s best emerging-market dollar bond bets are posting the starkest reversals. Venezuela, Ecuador and Gabon, which led the pack in 2016, had some of the worst changes, according to data compiled by Bloomberg on debt from 69 developing nations. Meanwhile, last year’s laggards, Mozambique and Suriname, have had the best improvements. “As the…

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Debt Management Should Be Priority for Zambia, Kalyalya Says

Debt Management Should Be Priority for Zambia, Kalyalya Says

LUSAKA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zambia must prioritize its debt management to protect the economy from a surge in borrowing costs, central bank Governor Denny Kalyalya said. “That’s one area that we really need to put a hand on so that it doesn’t overheat the economy,” Kalyalya said in an interview Wednesday in Washington. “If that happens then all these interest rates we’re talking about will go up very significantly.” Ballooning debt levels are key to negotiations…

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Zambia Favors Kwacha Debt Over Eurobonds for 2018 Financing

Zambia Favors Kwacha Debt Over Eurobonds for 2018 Financing

LUSAKA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zambia won’t sell dollar debt in 2018 as it focuses on raising kwacha loans and increasing tax collection, Finance Minister Felix Mutati said. The government plans to borrow 11.2 billion kwacha ($1.2 billion) from the domestic market next year, more than triple the amount in the 2017 budget. This is part of its strategy to tilt funding in favor of the local market, after external debt bulged to $7.5 billion by mid-year…

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