Banks that arranged billions of
dollars of loans to government companies in Mozambique have proposed to
restructure some of the now-defaulted debt, as the government of President
Filipe Nyusi struggles to relieve financial pressure on Mozambique’s economy.Credit
Suisse Group AG proposed the deal in recent weeks on behalf of a group of
institutions holding a loan that the Swiss lender and Russia’s Bank VTB Group
arranged in secret for a Mozambican government-owned company five years ago,
people familiar with the matter said.The restructuring would swap the loan into
new debt with interest payments tied to Mozambique’s future economic
performance, one of the people said, and would help the banks move past an
episode that attracted international scrutiny to their lending practices.
The first known proposal by the
group comes as the country attempts to restore access to international capital
markets. President Nyusi said in a September interview that Mozambique needs
external investment to pay for basic services ranging from health care to water
infrastructure.The debt crisis has become emblematic of the risks posed by a
surge of borrowing conducted in recent years by African governments that fund
managers say has left countries like Zambia and Ghana heavily indebted and at
risk of default.
“We need to rebuild roads and we
don’t have enough money,” President Nyusi said during the interview. “We need
water, for example, for food security…we need financing.”
The debt is part of $1.2 billion
the banks helped Mozambique borrow soon after the discovery of vast natural-gas
reserves off its coast. Development of the gas fields has been slow and the
country defaulted on the debt in 2017 after much of the borrowed funds
disappeared.Foreign governments and financial institutions are unwilling to
resume lending to the country until it normalises relations with its private
creditors and the International Monetary Fund, which stopped lending (Photo Finance minister Adriano Maleiane). to
Mozambique when The Wall Street Journal reported the existence of the
undisclosed debt. Mozambique offered in
March to reduce some of its debt and delay repayment of the rest until as late
as 2034, but creditors rebuffed the deal. The Credit Suisse group’s proposal, like
a previous one by owners of a defaulted Mozambique bond, suggests swapping
their claims into new securities that would pay increasing amounts when gas
exports replenish the country’s coffers, a concept the Nyusi administration has
consistently rejected.
“The proposal does not meet the
requirements of the authorities and is not considered a viable basis for a
solution,” said Ian Clarke, a lawyer for Mozambique at White & Case LLP.
A spokesman for Credit Suisse
said the bank “has been working to develop a sustainable restructuring solution
that accommodates the government of Mozambique’s requests and accounts for its
current economic circumstances.” A spokeswoman for VTB declined to comment.
Mozambique is also deadlocked
with the IMF, whose staff was angered by the hidden loans and has demanded
answers about who was behind the deals and where the missing funds have gone.
The Securities and Exchange
Commission and US Justice Department opened investigations of the deals in
recent years.Mozambique’s Justice Department continues to look for the missing
funds and is cooperating with the IMF and hopes the fund will resume lending as
a sign of good faith and encouragement, President Nyusi said.
“We would like them to give us
encouragement,” he said.
An IMF representative declined to
comment. The IMF said in April that “full clarity on the use of the proceeds of
the previously undisclosed loans contracted by three public companies will be
critical to restoring confidence and encouraging private investment.”
0 comentários:
Post a Comment