Sri Lanka to start talks to restructure bonds next week - report

Global investors and Sri Lanka officials expect to start negotiations aimed at restructuring $12 billion in defaulted global bonds next week, according to people familiar with the matter. The nation’s dollar bonds rose.

A group of bondholders, known as a steering committee, will begin talks as they weigh a proposal from the government to rework the overseas debt that has been in default since 2022, the people said, declining to be named because negotiations are private. The goal is to reach a deal quickly, the people said, particularly as Sri Lanka is scheduled to hold presidential elections later this year.

The nation’s central bank governor and treasury secretary are due to travel to Europe for discussions with bondholders, President Ranil Wickremesinghe was cited as saying in a Sinhala-language statement from his media unit March 20.

“After we get a declaration that Sri Lanka is free from bankruptcy, we also expect to have joint discussions with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in April,” Wickremesinghe said, according to the statement. ‘“I expect to complete all these matters by June-July.”

Rothschild & Co., which advises the bondholders, and Lazard Inc., an adviser to the government, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The prospect for a deal in Sri Lanka comes as creditor talks in two other stalled restructurings — Ghana and Zambia — are also gaining traction. Breakthroughs in those cases would mark a victory for the International Monetary Fund and G-20 leaders ahead of next month’s meetings of world leaders in Washington, D.C., where the topic of debt burdens for poor countries is on the agenda.

Last month, Sri Lanka sent a proposal to holders of dollar bonds as part of its plan to overhaul $27 billion of foreign debt, including bonds and loans. The restructuring is critical to ensure financing from the IMF bailout keeps flowing. President Ranil Wickremesinghe said in February that authorities expect to complete the debt revamp within the first half of the year.

The government has already struck deals with official creditors, including China, India and the Paris Club as well as with holders of its local debt.

Source: Bloomberg
--Agencies