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Monday August 7, 9:18 PMAlgeria signs $445 mln debt repayment with JapanALGIERS, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Algeria signed a $445 million early debt repayment with Japan on Monday under an accord with the Paris Club group of creditor countries allowing it to repay up to $8 billion in advance, state news agency APS said.The agency said Japan became the 15th creditor nation to sign a debt repayment deal with Algeria, bringing the total amount of debt the north African oil producer had so far agreed to repay early under the Paris Club accord to $4.6 billion. Algeria and the Paris Club reached an agreement in May under which members accepted Algeria's offer to prepay debt at par. Repayment will take place on a voluntary basis between May 31 and Nov. 30 after the conclusion of bilateral agreements. Algeria still has to sign deals with Germany and Italy to complete the process under the May accord. Analysts say the rationale for repayments is to improve Algeria's image to international investors in the hope of securing a credit rating. They expect that once the rating is obtained it may take on further debt, but via the international debt market rather than through the Paris Club. The country of 33 million people is hoping to cut its foreign debt to $5 billion by the end of 2006 from $15.5 billion at the end of February 2006. |
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