Investors holding Ethiopia’s defaulted bond have pushed back against the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) report, claiming it contains “significant flaws” that artificially depict the country as facing a solvency crisis—a scenario that could require debt relief.
The dispute underscores ongoing tensions between Ethiopia, the IMF, and the creditor committee over whether the country’s financial woes stem from a liquidity crunch, which would justify extending repayment timelines, or a deeper solvency crisis that might necessitate debt write-downs.
“The Committee disagrees with the conclusions reached by the IMF in the staff report,” the creditor group said in a statement, arguing that the report’s economic projections and reserve adequacy targets are inconsistent with Ethiopia’s actual fundamentals.
The committee also published a paper outlining what it described as “significant flaws” in the IMF’s analysis, claiming the assessment distorts Ethiopia’s financial position.
Neither the IMF nor the Ethiopian government has responded to requests for comment.
Ethiopia’s government, which has insisted bondholder losses are unavoidable, proposed an 18% debt haircut last year.
The creditor committee contends that the IMF report overlooks key improvements in Ethiopia’s economy, particularly growth in exports such as gold and coffee. The group, which represents investors holding over 40% of Ethiopia’s $1 billion bond, warned that it may pursue legal action in English courts to enforce repayment obligations.
