Zambia has sent debt restructuring proposal to official creditors

LONDON (Reuters) – Zambia has sent a debt restructuring proposal to its official creditors, a spokesperson for the government’s advisors said on Monday.

The country, which was the major sovereign casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic and has been in default since 2020, said on Friday it would share a first fully-formed debt restructuring plan with China and other government creditors.

“We can confirm the proposal has been sent,” a spokesperson working with advisors to the government in Lusaka said.

Zambia has earmarked over $18 billion of debt for overhaul, but progress has been slow, hampered by the concerns of its main creditors, including China, about the scale of relief required.

(Reporting by Marc Jones, writing by Karin Strohecker, editing by Jonathan Oatis)

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