BEIRUT: Lebanon will announce on Saturday it cannot make upcoming dollar bond payments and wants to restructure $31 billion of foreign currency debt, unless a late deal with creditors avoids a default.
Debt default would mark a new phase in a financial crisis which has hammered Lebanon’s economy since October, slicing 40 percent off the value of the currency and leading banks to deny access to deposits.
Prime Minister Hassan Diab will announce Lebanon’s decision on the Eurobonds after meetings on Saturday, two days before the state is due to pay back holders of a $1.2 billion Eurobond due on March 9.
“Lebanon is heading toward announcing it will halt payment, or its incapacity to pay the Eurobonds and the interest,” a senior political source told Reuters.
“The Lebanese government will do all it can to reorganize its relations with its debtors and to open the door for negotiations,” the source said. “When we talk about restructuring, we are talking about all the (Eurobond) debt of $31 billion.”
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of the powerful Hezbollah group, said on Wednesday a majority of lawmakers backed not paying back the debt.
The senior source told Reuters last-minute contacts continued, but expressed doubt a breakthrough was possible. A second source said efforts had aimed to avoid a disorderly default but there was little hope of a deal.
“They are trying but I don’t think there’s any hope,” echoed a third source close to the government.
Lebanon still has the option of invoking a seven-day grace period on the March 9 bond, which would allow the country more time for talks.
The March Eurobond dipped 1.7 cents to 57 cents on the dollar on Friday. That followed three consecutive trading sessions of strong gains on hopes of avoiding a default. The bond is trading at more than half the level of some longer-dated dollar issues.
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