Foreign Policy published on 1 July 2026 an article titled "What to Know About Ethiopia's Debt Breakthrough" by Nosmot Gbadamosi.
A year ago, Ethiopia reached a final agreement on restructuring $8.4 billion of bilateral loans, with $3.5 billion in debt relief. But a deal on the $1 billion bond held by private lenders proved to be more elusive. Under a recent deal, the bondholders have agreed to reduce the $1 billion debt to $880 million, repaid in installments by 2029.
Reuters published on 3 January 2026 an article titled "Ethiopia Strikes Draft Restructuring Deal on $1 Billion Bond with Bondholder Group" by Dawit Endeshaw and Karin Strohecker.
Ethiopia defaulted on its sole international bond in 2023 and opted to rework its debt under the G-20's Common Framework initiative. Addis Ababa has struck a preliminary agreement with a group of investors holding some of its $1 billion 2024 international bond. This marks an important step toward restoring debt sustainability.
The South China Morning Post published on 27 November 2023 an article titled "China, IMF and Investors Can't Reach a Deal on Zambia's Debt. What Does It Mean for Other Distressed African Nations?" by Jevans Nyabiage.
China, which is Zambia's largest bilateral lender, has been trying to restructure Lusaka's $4.1 billion debt in cooperation with other bilateral lenders and private bondholders. The negotiations have reached an impasse and may signal difficulties for reaching a restructuring agreement with other indebted countries such as Ethiopia and Ghana.
china-africa relations
