JOHANNESBURG/LONDON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Zambia's official creditors including China rejected a deal the country struck with its international bondholders because they believed its "base case" scenario did not deliver debt relief comparable to what they offered in a separate deal, two sources familiar with the talks said.
Official creditors said the agreement in principle, which the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also rejected, did not comply with "Comparability of Treatment", said the sources, who declined to be identified as the discussions are private.
Both bondholders and official creditors had proposed extending the maturity of Zambia's debt and that it be paid back quicker if the country's economy performs better than expected.
The bondholder deal proposed they would be paid more than $700 million before 2026 in the base case, while official creditors had offered a longer three-year grace period.
Bondholders would need to offer more debt relief in the base case scenario for the deal to be acceptable to official creditors and the IMF, one of the sources said.
Persons:
Rachel Savage, Karin Strohecker, Marc Jones, Alexandra Hudson
Organizations:
International Monetary Fund, IMF, Paris Club, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson
Locations:
JOHANNESBURG, LONDON, China, Zambia