Ethiopia has announced that it reached an agreement in principle with bondholders over the restructuring of a $1 billion bond on which it defaulted in 2023, signaling progress in its efforts to overhaul the debt this year. The discussions, held between Dec. 23 and Jan. 1, focused on the 6.625% coupon rate bond due in 2024 and involved institutional investors controlling more than 45% of the bond, the Finance Ministry said in a statement to Bloomberg.
Finance Minister Ahmed Shide said Ethiopia is committed to expediting the restructuring of the 2024 notes through an exchange offer or consent solicitation as early as 2026. The announcement comes after talks collapsed in September, when the Ethiopia Ad Hoc Committee representing bondholders had offered a deal that included a “material upfront haircut” in exchange for a mechanism to increase payouts if Ethiopia’s export revenues improved.
Ethiopia’s main exports—coffee and gold—have benefited from a more than 60% surge in gold prices over the past year, boosting revenue inflows across Africa’s mineral-producing nations. The Finance Ministry emphasized that the agreement in principle aligns with the parameters of an International Monetary Fund program and adheres to the comparability of treatment principle applied by Ethiopia’s Official Creditor Committee. Both the IMF and the OCC have been informed of the terms of the agreement.