Continental Focus, International Reach

ROC Seeks Debt Relief from Oil Traders

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

The Republic of Congo (ROC) is looking to start debt relief talks with several oil trading houses after borrowing $2 billion from traders like Glencore and Trafigura. The government is finding its current debt levels unsustainable.

The ROC government has engaged investment bank Lazard as its advisor to help it renegotiate debts with the traders, three banking and oil industry sources said, according to a Reuters report.

The ROC’s situation is similar to Chad’s which has appointed Rothschild as an advisor in talks with Glencore and four bank lenders. Chad borrowed $1.45 billion from Glencore, guaranteed by crude cargos. The Chadian government had to seek a restructuring because it had to channel most oil revenue towards debt repayments instead of its own budget when oil prices fell.

The recent move by the ROC is potentially precipitated by the IMF pressuring the government to restructure its debt. The country is seeking an IMF bailout and the IMF has laid out tough terms before releasing the funds.


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