Mozambique Says Can’t Pay $178 Million Debt Interest This Month

Maputo, Mozambique, Capital Markets in Africa: Cash-strapped Mozambique won’t be able to honor a debt-interest repayment of $178 million that is due next week for a loan to a state-run company, Finance Minister Adriano Afonso Maleiane told lawmakers.

The nation holds total public debt of $11.64 billion, of which $9.85 billion is owed to foreign investors, he said Wednesday in the capital, Maputo.

Mozambique Asset Management, whose payment is due on May 23, is negotiating with lenders to restructure the debt, he said. The company is one of two whose loans the government kept hidden from investors. The second, Proindicus, made a $24 million payment on March 21.

Source: Bloomberg Business News