Zimbabwe Asks Rich Nations to Help Scale $21 Billion Debt Hurdle

Zimbabwe has asked some of the world’s richest nations for bridge finance to end a debt standoff dating back to 1999, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube this month wrote letters to 10 nations seeking loans, three of the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is confidential. Those loans would then be used to pay arrears owed to multilateral creditors including the World Bank, which are prohibited by their rules from new lending arrangements with the African country until outstanding debt has been cleared.