Exclusive-Sri Lanka picks Lazard, Clifford Chance as advisers for overseas debt restructuring – sources
2022.05.23 20:11
A man waits inside a three-wheeler near a line to buy petrol from a fuel station, amid the country’s economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, May 23, 2022. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte
By Uditha Jayasinghe and Jorgelina do Rosario
COLOMBO/LONDON (Reuters) – Sri Lanka hired Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) and Clifford Chance as financial and legal advisers respectively to represent the government in talks with international creditors, three sources familiar with the situation said on Monday.
The sources asked not to be named because talks are private.
A spokesman for Clifford Chance did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Lazard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The country is headed for a debt restructuring of over $12 billion on overseas debt as it is engulfed in a deep economic and political crisis.
The move comes after the island nation defaulted on a bond payment last week as a 30-day grace period expired.
A creditor group of the largest holders of Sri Lanka’s sovereign dollar bonds hired Rothschild & Co as financial adviser and White & Case as legal adviser.
