Yields on Zambia’s Eurobonds climb to 20% amid spat with miners

Zambia’s Eurobond yields rose to 20% for the first time as the southern African nation struggles to shore up its finances and after the government threatened to nationalize foreign-owned copper mines.

The rate on Zambia’s $750 million of securities maturing in 2022 climbed a notch above 20% before recovering to trade at 19.99%, or a price of 65.7 cents on the dollar, as of 12:26 p.m. in London. The country’s Eurobond curve is inverted, a rarity and a signal its assets are in distressed territory. No other nation aside from Venezuela, which is in default, has dollar yields as high.

(By Paul Wallace)