The United States wants Senegal's debt treatment to be completed in less than a year, US Treasury official for international affairs Erin Browne said on Thursday, 15 October, in Bangkok, in an interview with Reuters.
She presents this timeframe as a goal, with no fixed timetable for the negotiations.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday, 14 October, in Bangkok that she was optimistic about the renegotiation of Senegal's debt with its creditors, according to Reuters. She presented the case as a test of the strengthened debt treatment mechanisms of the G20.
The IMF is supporting the country on the basis of a staff-level agreement for a $2.2 billion programme. The terms of the debt treatment remain under negotiation between Dakar and its creditors.
Reached on 1st September, the staff-level agreement covers a 36-month Extended Credit Facility. Its approval by the Fund's Executive Board remains subject to obtaining financing assurances and corrective measures linked to earlier misreporting of debt, according to the IMF statement.
A group representing holders of Senegal's international sovereign bonds has chosen Alvarez & Marsal as financial adviser for these discussions, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on 13 October. The group holds $2.2 billion of bonds at face value, out of a total international bond stock of $5.2 billion, according to the agency.
White & Case provides legal representation. Neither firm had responded to Reuters' requests for comment at the time of this report. Other sources cited by the agency said a letter from creditors warned that a reduction in principal could slow the negotiations.
Senegal invited its external creditors to a virtual briefing on 6 October, held under the good offices of the IMF. Dakar is aiming for agreements with official creditors and bondholders by December, according to sources cited by Reuters.
The Debt Treatment Plan launched on 1st September provides for parallel consultations with the different categories of creditors. Debt denominated in CFA francs is to remain outside the scope, given the role of the regional market in financing the state and the economy, according to the Senegalese Ministry of Economy, Finance and Planning.