Africa

Nigeria is reducing its domestic borrowing after government debt reached 22 trillion naira ($61 billion) in 2017, with most of it made up of high-interest, locally-acquired credit, the country’s debt office said. The government is working on a strategy to reduce domestic debt to 60 percent of the total, from 73 percent, Patience Oniha, director general of the Abuja-based Debt Management Office, told reporters on Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported.

National Bank of Kenya Ltd., which has the biggest bad-loan book in the Kenyan banking industry, is considering closing some of its 85 branches to cut costs, Chief Executive Officer Wilfred Musau said, Bloomberg News reported. Lenders in East Africa’s biggest economy are being forced to lower expenses after a government-imposed cap on commercial lending rates impaired their ability to provide loans and as consumers embrace digital banking, including Safaricom Ltd.’s M-Pesa platform.

Mozambique won’t make payments for at least five more years on about $2 billion of loans that led to a default last year, according to the International Monetary Fund, Bloomberg News reported. The government has amassed $710 million of arrears on the debt, most of which it previously hid from the Washington-based lender, according to an Article IV report and an associated Debt Sustainability Analysis to be submitted to the fund’s board March 2. The documents were shown to Bloomberg by two people who declined to be identified because they’ve not been published yet.

At least eight companies owned by the wealthy Gupta family accused of corrupt ties to former president Jacob Zuma, have filed for protection from creditors, documents showed on Friday, Reuters reported. The Indian-born billionaire business associates of Zuma, were accused of using their political connections to win state contracts and influence cabinet appointments, in a report by an anti-graft watchdog in 2016. Zuma and the Gupta brothers deny any wrongdoing.

Mozambique plans to meet holders of about $2 billion of its debt and outline restructuring proposals in London next month, more than a year after it defaulted, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said. Its Eurobonds gained to the highest since they were sold in April 2016, Bloomberg News reported. “The presentation will provide to holders of the country’s direct and guaranteed external commercial indebtedness an update on recent fiscal and macroeconomic developments in Mozambique,” the ministry said Thursday in an emailed statement.

Lazard Freres SAS is wrapping up talks with the Mozambican government for a planned meeting with creditors, said the bank that’s advising authorities on debt restructuring, Bloomberg News reported. The nation’s Eurobonds gained. “We are finalizing our discussions with the authorities and should be able to inform all creditors very shortly,” Michele Lamarche, managing director at Lazard in Paris, said in reply to emailed questions Thursday.

Chad signed a deal with Glencore Plc to restructure more than $1 billion in debt in an agreement that will help the African nation to avoid a financial crunch, Bloomberg News reported. The review was signed on Wednesday and is a “good outcome” for Chad, Guillaume Foucault, a spokesman for the country’s national oil company, said by phone from Paris. Under the terms of the agreement, the loan’s maturity is extended to 12 years while Chad will receive a grace period of two years, said Foucault.

Congo Republic is set to become the latest African country to start debt relief talks with trading houses after borrowing $2 billion (1.43 billion pounds) from merchants such as Trafigura and Glencore but now finding its debt levels unsustainable, sources familiar with the matter said. Trading houses regularly lend money to resource-rich clients in financial distress - be it countries such as Congo, Chad, Morocco or Iraq's Kurdistan region - when other lenders walk away.

It’s been a bad start to the year for Zambia, Bloomberg News reported. Its Eurobonds are the worst-performing debt among emerging-market sovereign issuers, having lost 5.8 percent, according to Bloomberg indexes. On Monday, the kwacha weakened 1 percent against the dollar, the most globally, to its lowest level in almost six weeks. Doubts over whether the government will secure a $1.3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund have resurfaced among investors.

Steinhoff has appointed a former KPMG partner to head restructuring efforts as it tries to rebuild its balance sheet in the wake of an accounting scandal, the Financial Times reported. The South Africa-based retail conglomerate said in January it was looking to appoint an “independent debt restructuring expert” as chief restructuring officer as part of a board overhaul following the departure of its most senior managers.