Former Finance Minister Magande questions Zambia’s hurry to refinance the $750M Eurobond

Government has been challenged to explain to the nation why it has opted to resale the US$ 750 million Eurobond four years ahead of its maturity.

Former Finance Minister Ng’andu Magande has said that he finds it very difficult to understand why government does not want to wait until the Eurobond matures in the year 2022 before selling it.

Mr. Magande said that the impression he is getting from this hurried decision, is that government has already projected that the US$ 750 million Eurobond is giving Zambia problems.

In an interview with QTV News by telephone Mr. Magande also wondered whether it was the Zambian government that was interested in selling the debt or the Turkish company that was interested in buying it.

Mr. Magande, who was Finance Minister under the Patrick Mwanawasa MMD government, noted that if it was government that was interested, Zambians should know how the said Turkish company was selected, especially that there are many private equities who deal in the financial market all over the world.

Mr. Magande stated that government should also tell the nation whether or not conditions the Turkish private equity is offering are favorable than what it is paying in interest rates towards the Eurobond.

Mr. Magande further said that Zambian citizens further want to know whether or not conditions the Turkish company is offering are better than International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan conditions.

Source: Lusaka Times