Thursday 6 February 2020

Foreign Bondholders Join Lebanese Debt Restructuring Chorus - Bloomberg

Foreign Bondholders Join Lebanese Debt Restructuring Chorus - Bloomberg:

Some foreign holders of Lebanon’s bonds are expressing support for a government debt restructuring as the clamor grows among local politicians to skip a payment due in weeks.

At a private meeting days ago with government representatives, a number of foreign funds that own Eurobonds, including a $1.2 billion note due March 9, argued that Lebanon would be better off restructuring rather than paying its debt, said a person familiar with the matter, declining to identify the investors.

In a suggestion that the fallout can be contained, they said Lebanon’s bonds were already discounted on their balance sheets, according to the person, who asked not to be named because the information isn’t public.

Central bank Governor Riad Salameh has told officials including the new prime minister, Hassan Diab, that he is willing to pay the debt if instructed by the government, people familiar with the talks said. He’s already helped repay nearly $5 billion of bonds in the past year.


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