面临公共债务重组,莫桑比克债券下跌

Mozambique Bonds Fall After Signal on Public-Debt Restructuring

  • State lost about $658 million in revenue due to protests
  • Economy seen growing last year at slowest pace since 2020
Mozambique police officers look on as protesters argue with them in Maputo on Jan. 15.
Mozambique police officers look on as protesters argue with them in Maputo on Jan. 15.

Mozambique is considering restructuring its public debt after the government lost about 42 billion meticais ($664 million) of revenue in post-election unrest, the country’s new finance minister said. Its dollar bonds fell.

Carla Louveira, who was appointed by President Daniel Chapo as finance chief on Jan. 17, declined to say whether the government is looking to revamp both domestic and dollar debt. “This is work that is ongoing,” she said by phone on Sunday.

Mozambique’s $900 million eurobonds dropped as much as 3.5% on Monday, the most in almost five years, to 82 cents on the dollar.

Protests since Mozambique’s disputed Oct. 9 election have shaken the southeast African nation where debt rose to about 96% of gross domestic product last year. The government has turned to local bonds to finance gaping deficits, with domestic debt nearly tripling in November, compared with levels recorded five years ago.

The demonstrationscost the government about 14 billion meticais in revenue in December alone, Louveira said in comments broadcast by state-owned TVM on Jan. 18. Standard Bank Group Ltd. estimated that economic growth slowed to 2.5% last year, the worst outcome since 2020.

Mozambique in 2019 restructured its sole dollar bond into $900 million of notes due 2031. The government had defaulted on that debt after admitting in 2016 to having taken on more than $1 billion of loans without making the required disclosures to the International Monetary Fund.

One of the world’s poorest countries, Mozambique has been hoping large natural gas discoveries off its northeastern coast would generate billions of dollars in state revenue and transform the economy. An Islamic State-linked insurgency has delayed those projects for years.

— With assistance from Michael Cohen — 由 Michael Cohen 协助