Belize is in talks to restructure $530 million of bonds, citing serious economic and financial challenges facing the country, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The Central American nation announced plans last Wednesday and urged bondholders to form a committee before the end of November, ahead of a semiannual coupon payment due in February. The Belize announcement follows on the heels of a similar plea by Africa’s Mozambique, where bondholders are resisting the restructuring, which would be their second in a year. This month, London-based brokerage Exotix downgraded Mozambique and Belize to sell, saying that each have upcoming bond payments and that one or both could default. Belize’s GDP growth slowed to 1 percent in 2015 due to falling production from various commodity sectors, including oil, and with a currency pegged to the dollar, the country has struggled to remain competitive against other commodity exporters in emerging markets, the IMF said following a review of the country in September.
