Bond Traders May Have Found the Next Greece

Just when the International Monetary Fund sees slower growth around the globe, the economy the World Bank ranks 112 out of 196 based on gross domestic product is leading everyone – with the opposite outlook.

That would be Zambia, the Sub-Saharan African nation of 20 million people that defaulted in 2020. The “air-conditioned state,” so-called because of its elevation and climate, is poised to watch its economy expand at least 6% in 2025, buoyed by improving rainfall, increased copper production and a debt restructuring with interest rates as low as 1% until 2037. Zambia's dollar-denominated securities now have no peers in the international bond market, and the kwacha’s performance this year is second only to Ghana’s cedi among Africa's currencies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.