NEW YORK — The world's poorest countries could save over $12 billion owed to sovereign and other creditors this year through their participation in a debt-relief program, with Angola alone saving some $3.4 billion, according to estimates published Friday in a new database from the World Bank. The savings under the COVID-19-linked Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) will be short-term, since the initiative only provides for suspension of debt payments through the end of the year. It postpones those payments until a later date but does not cancel them outright. The second-largest saver among eligible DSSI countries would be Pakistan, with $2.4 billion, followed by Kenya with $802 million, according to the data https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/debt/brief/covid-19-debt-service-suspension-initiative. In terms of savings compared with gross domestic product, Bhutan would reap the most benefits from the plan with 7.3% of GDP savings, followed by Angola at 3.7% and Djibouti at 2.5%.

Source: International New York Times June 19, 2020 19:07 UTC