Zambia has secured a $1.3bn IMF bailout package, enabling the African nation to advance talks with creditors on exiting a default that will test how Beijing handles the souring of its loans to developing nations.
The three-year bailout “will help reestablish sustainability through fiscal adjustment and debt restructuring” through a “homegrown economic reform plan” formulated by President Hakainde Hichilema’s government, the Washington-based multilateral lender said.
The deal is a landmark for how the IMF will respond to a wave of debt distress in countries that have borrowed heavily from China. The bailout was unlocked after Beijing agreed in principle in July to restructure loans under a G20 framework to co-ordinate debt relief.