REUTERS
The Republic of Congo is in default on its international debts after missing an interest payment on $478m of bonds due at the end of June, as the oil price collapse claimed another victim, The Financial Times reported referring to S&P statement made on Tuesday.
The African country missed the interest payment due on June 30, and the grace period ran out at the end of July, according to the report.
The yield on the bond, which was issued as part of a restructuring of its London Club debts in 2007, has climbed to 9.5%, according to Bloomberg data. The rating agency did not go into why Congo defaulted, but the country depends heavily on its oil exports, and the price of crude has plummeted in recent years.
The latest report by the International Monetary Fund – published in September last year – noted that the Republic of Congo "has been hit hard by the oil price shock". In 2014 oil revenues accounted for almost 70% of the government’s total revenues, The Financial Times wrote.