Senegal Requests Debt Restructuring Under G20 Framework as External Service Hits 25 Percent of Revenues

Senegal's 2025 budget execution showed debt service at 25 percent of revenues, up from 18 percent in 2023, according to Ministry of Finance data submitted to the IMF. This shift coincides with maturing Eurobonds and Chinese policy bank loans contracted between 2018 and 2022. The Common Framework process, previously applied to Chad, Ethiopia, and Zambia, now confronts a middle-income West African case where commercial creditors hold 35 percent of the stock.

Primary records indicate France and China, Senegal's largest bilateral creditors, have divergent positions on net present value reductions. French export credit agency documentation prioritizes short-term liquidity relief while preserving long-term claims, whereas Chinese lending agreements contain confidentiality clauses that limit pari passu treatment. Senegal's stated rationale centers on preserving infrastructure investment; the documented outcome is a widening primary deficit.

The case tests whether the Framework can produce comparable treatment when private bondholders and two major official creditors hold incompatible incentives. World Bank International Debt Statistics for 2025 record Senegal's external debt at 62 percent of GDP, with multilateral institutions already providing 40 percent of new disbursements.

Next steps hinge on an IMF program review scheduled for December 2026. Failure to secure creditor committee agreement by March 2027 would trigger missed payments on a $500 million Eurobond due in April.