Faye puts IMF cash first as Senegal targets faster debt fix

The push for an IMF program

Speaking to France24 late Thursday, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said the top priority is to negotiate with the IMF and secure a program approved by the Board to restore partners' confidence. "What fundamentally concerns us today is how to discuss with the Fund, reach an agreement and obtain a program that is approved by the Board and definitively restores the confidence of our partners," he said. Pressed on whether it could be finished within a few months, he replied, "we hope so, we're working towards that."

On Sept. 1, Senegal reached a three-year staff-level agreement with the Washington-based lender, pending IMF Board approval, and committed to pursue debt treatment via the Common Framework.

A revised Common Framework and timing

The government intends to opt for a simplified take on the Group of 20 Common Framework, a decision Faye tied to receiving assurances that the process would run more smoothly this time. "Before choosing the framework, what we asked was that the framework be improved," he said, adding that "the fundamental concern was the time required for the negotiations and discussions that have to take place within this framework."

Getting it done in a few months would be far quicker than the several years Ghana and Zambia needed to largely complete their restructurings with main bilateral creditors and eurobond investors.

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Politics, markets and the near-term picture

Senegal has been unable to tap international capital markets since a 2024 revelation that the previous government had taken on billions of dollars in undisclosed debt, leading the IMF to halt the earlier program. Domestic politics add uncertainty. Earlier this year, Faye removed Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko - previously an ally and currently the speaker of parliament - after he denounced proposals to restructure Senegal's debt as an assault on the country's economic sovereignty.

Local elections are slated for next year, but officials have not set a date. Faye said clinching the IMF program takes priority over that vote, which he called not urgent.

At 9:45 a.m. in London, Senegal's 2031 dollar bonds were up 0.10 cents at 50.96 cents on the dollar, their first gain in five days.

What this means for your portfolio

The swing factors: IMF Board approval and whether a streamlined Common Framework actually shortens creditor talks that dragged on elsewhere. Faye rejected the idea that the IMF caused his split with Sonko, while acknowledging that moving ahead with the Fund is among their differences. "There are persistent divergences on certain subjects," he said, keeping the timeline and path for Senegal's debt story an open question for anyone tracking the bonds.

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