The holders of Zambia’s bonds have voted overwhelmingly to restructure the debt, the Ministry of Finance and National Planning has announced.
In a statement issued by Secretary to the Treasury Felix Nkulukusa today, Zambia announced the launch of a Consent Solicitation on May 13 in respect of its three existing bond notes for US$750 million, US$1 billion, and US$1.25 billion with 2022, 2024, and 2027 maturities respectively.
“Zambia undertook solicitation of consents (the “Consent Solicitation”) from the holders of the outstanding Existing Notes (the “Noteholders”) to consider and, if thought fit, pass extraordinary resolutions (the “Extraordinary Resolutions”) at meetings of the Noteholders to be held on 4th June, 2024 (the “Meetings”) to approve, inter alia, mandatorily exchanging the Existing Notes of that Series for New Notes (the “Proposal”),” read the statement.
Nkulukusa said Zambia was pleased with the overwhelming participation and outturn of the voting instructions, which were above the minimum required threshold.
Minister of Finance and National Planning Situmbeko Musokotwane commented, “We are extremely pleased to see such high participation in our bondholder consent. Finalizing this agreement with bondholders will create the fiscal breathing space necessary for Zambia to remain on a trajectory of sustainable economic growth. After nearly four years since we initially defaulted on our Eurobonds, the close of the restructuring chapter is in sight. Our thanks go out to our bondholders for their support, and we look forward to finalizing all formalities with respect to the consent process in the coming weeks.”