Kenya will not seek a suspension of debt payments under a G20 initiative aimed at helping poor countries weather the COVID-19 pandemic, its finance minister said on Friday, saying the terms of the deal were too restrictive. Minister Ukur Yatani told Reuters in an interview he was also concerned about the impact that debt relief might have on Kenya’s credit rating. The G20 initiative only covers official bilateral debt, though it calls for the voluntary participation of private lenders on comparable terms. A third of Kenya’s 3 trillion shilling ($28 billion) external debt is owed to private creditors including holders of the country’s two Eurobonds“The G20 debt relief initiative does not offer optimal benefit given the structure of Kenya’s debt portfolio,” he said. “Kenya is taking a cautious approach of seeking debt relief from bilateral creditors to safeguard its sovereign credit rating,” he said.

Source: The Star May 15, 2020 13:30 UTC