Debt relief for poor nations not an easy sell to bondholders

A revision of payment terms, even in agreement with investors, will be considered a debt default, leading to negative credit and rating implications for both creditors and issuers, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

NEW YORK: A pause in debt payments for the world’s poorest countries to help them battle the coronavirus will be a hard sell for private creditors.

The Group of 20 leading economies last week heeded calls from African finance ministers to grant a debt waiver of about US$20bil until the end of the year, and asked private creditors to step up.