Zimbabwe seeks $150 million AfDB loan to address debt default and arrears

Zimbabwe sought a $150 million loan from the African Development Bank to address a long-running sovereign debt default and to clear billions of dollars in arrears, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said.

LOAN PURPOSE AND GOVERNMENT INTENT

According to a Bloomberg report carried by Moneyweb, the loan talks with the African Development Bank are part of Harare's efforts to clear billions of dollars of debt arrears.

WIDER ARREARS-CLEARANCE EFFORTS

The talks add to efforts Ncube flagged in April to raise $2.5 billion from countries including the UK, Japan and Germany. The AfDB approved a $4 million grant in May to support the arrears clearance process, and Zimbabwe reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a staff-monitored programme in February.

Sources: Moneyweb SA