Zambia upbeat about debt agreement

Zambia's Finance Minister said this Wednesday that the country is working hard with creditors, including China , in order to agree a debt restructuring by the end of March or shortly afterwards.

According to Situmbeko Musokotwane , China , Zambia's largest bilateral creditor, was being engaged on the debt restructuring with bilateral engagements on an almost weekly basis.

Zambia's external debt stood at $14.87 billion at the end of June 2022 , the minister said previously.

Chinese lenders accounted for almost $6 billion of debt at the end of 2021 , according to government data.

Zambia was the first African country to default on its sovereign debt during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 , but the restructuring of its external debts to creditors including China and Eurobond holders has been greatly delayed.