THE PARIS CLUB AGREES ON A NEAR-TOTAL CANCELLATION OF THE DEBT OF THE REPUBLIC OF COTE D'IVOIRE UNDER

THE PARIS CLUB AGREES ON A NEAR-TOTAL CANCELLATION OF THE DEBT OF THE REPUBLIC OF COTE D'IVOIRE UNDER THE FRAMEWORK OF THE ENHANCED HEAVILY INDEBTED POOR COUNTRIES INITIATIVE

Representatives of the Paris Club creditor countries met with representatives of Government of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire on 29 June 2012 and agreed on a debt cancellation, the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire having reached its Completion Point under the enhanced initiative for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (enhanced HIPC Initiative) on 26 June 2012.

In order to contribute to restoring the debt sustainability of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, Paris Club creditors decided to cancel USD 1,771.6 million in nominal terms, which represents the Paris Club's share of the cancellation effort called for in the framework of the enhanced HIPC Initiative. Creditors welcomed and supported the commitment of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire to seek comparable treatment from all their other external bilateral and commercial creditors (including other creditor countries).

Paris Club creditors also confirmed their willingness to grant additional debt relief on a bilateral basis for an amount of USD 4,725 million.

This agreement and additional bilateral efforts will result in a reduction of the debt of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire to Paris Club creditors of 99.5%, i.e. USD 6,496.6 million.

Paris Club creditors welcomed the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire's determination to continue to implement a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy and an ambitious economic program providing the basis for sustainable economic growth.

The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire has committed to use the resources freed by this debt treatment for priority areas (health, education and basic infrastructure) identified in the country's poverty reduction strategy.

Background notes


1. The Paris Club was formed in 1956. It is an informal group of creditor governments from major industrialized countries.

2. The members of the Paris Club which participated in the restructuring of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire's debt were representatives of the governments of Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Brazil also participated in this reorganization.

Observers at the meeting were representatives of the government of the Russian Federation, as well as the International Monetary Fund, the International Development Association, the African Development Bank and the Secretariat of the UNCTAD.

3. The delegation of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire was headed by Mr. Charles Koffi DIBY, Minister of Economy and Finance. The meeting was chaired by Ms. Delphine d'AMARZIT, Co-Chairperson of the Paris Club.

Technical notes

1. The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire's economic program is supported by a three year Arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility approved by the International Monetary Fund on 4 November 2011. The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire reached the Decision Point under the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative in March 2009.

2. The external debt of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire is estimated to be more than USD 12.49 billion as of end 2011 (source: IMF and IDA documents). The debt owed to Paris Club creditors was estimated to be USD 6,529.3 million as of 1st June 2012 (source: Paris Club).

Gabon Paid Overdue Eurobond Coupon on Settlement, S&P Says // Gabon said on June 20 that a court order froze funds intended for note holders. // na also....es funktioniert doch sovereigns gerichtlich zu zwingen zu zahlen !!!

Bloomberg News

Gabon Paid Overdue Eurobond Coupon on Settlement, S&P Says

By Chris Kay and Stephen Gunnion on June 22, 2012

Gabon made an overdue June coupon payment on its $1 billion of Eurobonds yesterday after settling a legal dispute in an English court, according to Standard & Poor’s.

The yields on the 8.2 percent international bonds maturing in 2017, which have fallen 0.8 percent this year, retreated three basis points to 4.54 percent as of 2:35 p.m. in London, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

South Africa’s Nedbank Group Ltd. (NED) and construction company Aveng Ltd. (AEG) agreed to a government proposal from the oil- producing Central African nation to settle a legal dispute that delayed coupon payments, Sylvain Allogho, an adviser to the economy minister, said yesterday. Gabon said on June 20 that a court order froze funds intended for note holders.

“After a settlement between Gabon and the plaintiff, the funds were unfrozen, and the paying agent made the $32 million coupon payment, which was originally due June 12,” S&P said in a statement today, without saying where it got the information. “We consider that the delayed coupon payment was unrelated to Gabon’s ability and willingness to make that payment. In our view, the government moved quickly to unfreeze the funds in order to service its debt within the contractual grace period.”
Gabon’s long- and short-term local and foreign currency sovereign credit ratings were affirmed as BB-/B, S&P said in the statement. The nation is also rated BB- by Fitch Ratings, the third-highest non-investment grade rating at both companies, the same as Angola and Georgia.
“The matter has been resolved,” Brian Kennedy, the managing executive of Johannesburg-based Nedbank Capital, said by mobile phone today. “We are very happy; we have no issue with the government at all.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Chris Kay in Abuja at ckay5@bloomberg.net; Stephen Gunnion in Johannesburg at sgunnion@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@bloomberg.net

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-06-22/gabon-paid-overdue-eurobond-coupon-on-settlement-s-and-p-says

Ivory Coast Eurobond hits record high on debt deal

Wed Jun 27, 2012 12:08pm GMT

 

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LONDON, June 27 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's $2.3 billion defaulted bond rose sharply to a record high on Wednesday on news the country would receive over $4 billion in debt reduction from lenders and expectations it will resume coupon payments on its bond.
Ivory Coast, the world's largest cocoa producer, has attracted risk-hungry investors given the relative scarcity of African dollar bonds.
Ivory Coast will receive more than 2.15 trillion CFA francs ($4.09 billion) in debt reduction after meeting conditions under the IMF-World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) scheme, both institutions said in a statement late on Tuesday.
Ivory Coast's dollar debt has been the best-performing emerging hard currency debt this year, according to JP Morgan, after the country repeatedly said it would again pay coupons, after three missed payments following a four-month civil war.
"The debt relief marks a crucial stage for the shoring-up of the country's sovereign debt, which reduces substantially as a result," said John Bates, head of fixed income at Silk Invest.
"Of course, the announcement of a coupon payment is great for investor confidence after three missed payments."
The next payment of more than $43 million is expected on July 2, to include a good faith payment of nearly $2.1 million against outstanding arrears.

The bond rose 1.5 points to a record 75 cents on the dollar on Wednesday, giving a yield around 8.7 percent.
The bond, which starts paying back principal ahead of maturity, traded at around 60 cents at launch in April 2010 and fell to a record low around 34 cents in March 2011, during the civil war after a disputed presidential election in late 2010.
The London Club of commercial creditors is due to meet Ivory Coast officials in Paris on Thursday and is expected to discuss repayment of the arrears, which analysts said was around $90 million.
"I expect they will try to propose an arrears clearance schedule," said Samir Gadio, emerging markets strategist at Standard Bank.
"We think they would like to pay the arrears in 2013 to 2014."
Analysts are upbeat on the bond, with Barclays recommending an overweight position with a price target of 80.
"Ivory Coast has its own story and is not so affected by anything else," said Gadio. (Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; editing by Ron Askew)

 http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL6E8HRAV320120627?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0

Belize Coordinating Committee Announces Formation

EMTA Members may view a press release issued by holders of Government of Belize US Dollar Bonds due in 2029 regarding the formation of a Coordinating Committee by Clicking Here; or you may copy and paste the following link into your internet browser:  http://www.emta.org/newdev.aspx.

EMTA offers a wide range of Emerging Markets information.  Please see our website at: http://www.emta.org/.

This e-mail was sent from EMTA, Trade Association For The Emerging Markets (eramirez@emta.org) to rolfjkoch@web.de.

Communique from Republic of Côte d’Ivoire's Minister of Economy and Finance addressed to the holders of its US$ 2,332,149,000 US Dollar Denominated Step-Up Bonds due 2032,

EMTA Members may view the latest Communique from Republic of Côte d’Ivoire's Minister of Economy and Finance addressed to the holders of its US$ 2,332,149,000 US Dollar Denominated Step-Up Bonds due 2032, ISIN Numbers XS04964883945/XS0496608984 by Clicking Here; or you may copy and paste the following link into your internet browser: http://www.emta.org/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=7399.

EMTA offers a wide range of Emerging Markets information. Please see our website at: http://www.emta.org.

This e-mail was sent from EMTA, Trade Association For The Emerging Markets (eramirez@emta.org) to rolfjkoch@web.de