“Prospects for sovereign debt restructuring and access to financing”, OMFIF webinar, 4 Jun 2020

Dr. Nasser Saidi participated in a webinar on 4th June 2020 titled “Overcoming debt crisis in emerging markets: Prospects for sovereign debt restructuring and access to financing” organised by the the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) on 4th June 2020.

As emerging markets face humanitarian and economic shocks, the ability to service their sovereign debt has led to concerns of a widespread debt crisis. While the G20 agreed to a standstill in April by freezing repayments on bilateral loans for 76 poorer countries, uncertainty remains over trade offs between debt relief and re-financing, the outlook for middle income countries, and how the private sector creditors will respond. The panel looks at the prospects for sovereign debt restructuring and access to financing across Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Dr. Saidi focused on the case of Lebanon, while also highlighting the role of China as a global lender. Watch the webinar below.