Informal international bondholders have reportedly proposed that Ethiopia delay the repayment of its $1 billion bond until 2024.
According to Reuters, It has been suggested that the last period of the bond be 2029 or 2030, and the Ethiopian government has not responded to them regarding the issue.
This extension is said to save Ethiopia from the large amount of money it is expected to repay at the end of the year, which is said to enable it to repay 200 million dollars annually in the last five years.
It is stated that the Ethiopian government, which has not yet begun to return any payment regarding the bond payment, has not responded about the issue.
The only bond that Ethiopia has in the international bond market is this one billion dollar bond, when it was reported that the price has decreased due to the two-year war in the north.
This 10-year bond, which was marketed in 2024, will expire in 2024, and it is understood that the bondholders have not formed a committee to request an extension.
Ethiopia, which is expected to record 5.3 percent economic growth in the current financial year, according to the World Bank, has reached 27.4 billion dollars in international loans.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that the Ethiopian government’s debt covers 46.4 percent of the country’s annual gross domestic product (GDP), and its foreign currency reserves can only cover three weeks’ worth of purchases.
This is significantly lower than the three-month stock that is considered normal at the global level.
