Zambia

Zambia is headed for a default next week, as GlobalCapital understands the bondholder committee responsible for 40% of the sovereign Eurobonds will reject the deferral request in a vote next week.

Zambia, which is asking to defer upcoming coupon payments as it seeks to restructure its debt, laid out a time frame for discussions with bondholders this week. But investors were disappointed with the lack of clarity and detail from an investor call with finance minister Bwalya N’gandu this week.

Zambia’s request to defer payment on $3bn of its Eurobonds is the first potential default by an African government during the coronavirus crisis. The process has been poorly managed, say sources close to the matter, throwing into doubt Zambia's chances of winning leniency, the vital first step to avoiding a messy hard default. Mariam Meskin reports.

Zambia has requested to defer payments on $3bn of its dollar Eurobonds, in what could be the first default by an African sovereign during the coronavirus crisis. Bondholders said they were resigning themselves to accepting the deferral request.

Political interference in central bank business is rarely a smart move, especially for emerging market countries trying to win the respect of international markets. But it’s an even more reckless endeavour in the midst of a global crisis, especially for a debt-ridden country like Zambia.

International bondholders have formed a specialist committee to conduct negotiations with Zambia after the country announced a liability management exercise to control its debt.

With emerging markets across the globe facing an overwhelming liquidity squeeze, the IMF said on Thursday that it would “look for solutions that can unlock critical financing” in countries where the unsustainability of debt prevented the fund from lending, potentially increasing funding options for the most stressed of countries.

Thirteen emerging market sovereigns will face their first bond market redemptions over the next seven years and, with financing conditions set to become more difficult, market participants are watching them carefully.

The party looks to be over in emerging market bonds leaving borrowers with one heck of a funding hangover. Years of low rates have prompted a debt splurge from borrowers able to fund at ever lower coupons. But just as dollar rates are on the increase, those credits are racing towards a $2tr maturity wall and the problem of how to refinance it in a market that has presented clear symptoms of risk fatigue this year shows no sign of abating. Lewis McLellan and Francesca Young report.

Zambia is looking for options to refinance an increasingly worrying debt pile in the wake of a ratings downgrade.

First Quantum Minerals raised $2.2bn for refinancing purposes on Thursday, in what was said to be the biggest corporate high yield bond issue from the CEEMEA region ever - though it was the same size as a VimpelCom deal in 2011.

The usage of renminbi in Africa has long been talked up given China’s status as the continent’s largest trading partner. Developments over the past couple of years have been slow, however, though there are now signs of activity with several African nations visiting Hong Kong in November to learn more about RMB reserves management.