On 13th November 2020, Zambia became the first African country in the Covid-19 era to default on its Eurobond debt after missing a coupon payment of US$42.5 million. Consequently, Fitch downgraded Zambia from a CC rating to Restricted Default, following Standard and Poor’s (S&P), which had already reduced its equivalent rating to Selective Default ahead of the expiry of a 30-day grace period for the coupon payment. This came after the Government’s admission that the country was already defaulting on its external obligations and would not be making debt service payments. […]