COTE D'IVOIRE Debt Treatment - May 15, 2009

• repayment of non ODA credits over 23 years , with 6 years of grace
• repayment of ODA credits over 40 years with 16 years of grace

On an exceptional basis, considering Côte d’Ivoire’s limited capacity of payment, and provided that this country continues to implement satisfactorily its IMF supported program, creditors have also agreed to defer the repayment of the arrears accumulated by Côte d’Ivoire on post cut-off date debts, as well as maturities falling due during the consolidation period under the post cut-off date debts and the moratorium interest due during the consolidation period on the rescheduled and deferred amounts. The repayment of most of these amounts will start after April 2012.

possibility to conduct debt swaps

On a voluntary and bilateral basis, the Government of each participating creditor country or its appropriate institutions may sell or exchange, in the framework of debt for nature, debt for aid, debt for equity swaps or other local currency debt swaps:

(i) the amounts of outstanding loans as regards ODA loans;

(ii) the amounts of other outstanding credits, loans and consolidations, up to 20% of the amounts of outstanding credits as of 30 September 1991 or up to an amount of 30 million SDR, whichever is higher.

good will clause

Given the decision by Paris Club Creditors to contribute to the exceptional assistance in favour of the Government of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire under the Enhanced HIPC Initiative, the Participating Creditor Countries declare their readiness in principle to hold a meeting at the Completion Point designed to examine the question of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire’s outstanding debt stock and to make the necessary effort in favour of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire to allow it to reach the objective of its debt sustainability in the context of an equitable burden sharing among creditors, provided that:

- the Government of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire maintains satisfactory relations with the Participating Creditor Countries and a sound reform track record;
 
- the Executive Boards of the IMF and the IDA decide that the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire has reached its Completion Point under the enhanced HIPC initiative.

Phases

• First phase : From April 01, 2009 up to March 31, 2010 implemented at the signature of the agreement
• Second phase : From April 01, 2010 up to March 31, 2011 implemented at October 01, 2010
• Third phase : From April 01, 2011 up to March 31, 2012 not implemented yet

 The Republic of Côte d’Ivoire was declared eligible for the Enhanced HIPC initiative by the IDA and the IMF in December 2008 and was declared to have reached its Decision Point in March 2009. In this context, the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire commits to seek promptly from all its external creditors which are not participating in the Agreed Minutes dated 15 May 2009, their appropriate contribution in terms of debt relief to the Enhanced HIPC initiative, on top of traditional debt relief mechanisms and consistent with the proportional burden sharing based on their relative exposure in net present value of total external debt at Decision Point after the full use of traditional debt relief mechanisms.

The appropriate nature of the debt relief provided will be assessed not only on the basis of the reduction in the net present value of the debt as computed under Appropriate Market Rate, but also on the terms of repayment of the debts not cancelled. For this purpose, all relevant elements will be taken into account, including the level of cash payments received by those creditors as compared to their share in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire’s external debt, the nature and characteristics of all treatment applied, including debt buybacks, and all characteristics of the reorganized claims and in particular their repayment terms whatever forms they take and in general the financial relations between the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and creditor countries not listed in the Agreed Minutes dated 15 May 2009.

Consequently, the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire commits not to accord any category of creditors -and in particular creditor countries not participating in the Agreed Minutes dated 15 May 2009, commercial banks, suppliers and bondholders- a treatment more favourable than that accorded to the Participating Creditor Countries.

Participating creditors

Observers

Press release