ZAMBIA SAYS EXIMBANK TO REPRESENT CHINESE LENDERS IN DEBT TALKS

LONDON - The Export-Import Bank of China (EximBank) will lead Beijing's team to renegotiate nearly $6 billion of loans that Zambia owes to Chinese state-owned creditors, the country's finance ministry said yesterday.EximBank, one of Beijing's three policy banks and Zambia's single largest Chinese creditor, is the linchpin in China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that oversees infrastructure lending.

"Negotiations with the committee are progressing well and the IMF/World Bank DSA (debt sustainability analysis) assumptions are one of the subjects under discussion," the finance ministry said in a statement.

China is Zambia's largest bilateral creditor, accounting for 75 percent of what the country owes to nations, including France and India.

Creditors and investors are closely monitoring how China, the world's largest bilateral lender, is managing debt negotiations around the world. China has tended to offer debt relief by extending maturities rather than accepting writedowns on loans.

EximBank did not respond to a request for comment.

China and France agreed earlier this year to co-chair an official creditors committee to renegotiate Zambia's bilateral debts but had not yet specified who would represent each country.

EximBank said in a statement on its website on Wednesday its vice president

Zhang Wencai has discussed the Common Framework and debt issues with French Treasury officials during a recent visit to Paris, without providing any details.

The policy bank has extended to Zambia more than half of Chinese loans while a $982 million loan was made jointly with the Industrial Commercial Bank of China.

Western countries last month pointed to China as the principle obstacle for many nations unable to service their debt to moving ahead with debt-restructuring deals.

Ecuador announced in September it had agreed with China Development Bank and EximBank to extend maturities and reduce the amortisation on $3.2 billion of loans – REUTERS.