LUSAKA - Zambia's international bonds rose on Wednesday after a government official ‍said the country was ‍in preliminary talks with China to change the currency denomination of ​some loans owed to Beijing, in a bid to reduce currency conversion risk.

Zambia's 2033 ⁠dollar bonds climbed one cent to 72.35 cents on the dollar, their highest level in ⁠three weeks, ‌according to Tradeweb data.

Zambia owes China, its largest bilateral creditor, $5.7 billion, official figures show.

Masitala Mushinga, director of debt management at the finance ministry, ⁠told a press conference on Tuesday that Zambia has held preliminary discussions with China to re-denominate part of the debt. "We had some discussions at technical level but these have just been at technical level," Mushinga said. "As a way ⁠of mitigating against risk, we discussed ​currency swap issues with our Chinese counterparts on the RMB (Renminbi) component of the Chinese debt." Last year, Kenya ‍converted three railway construction dollar-denominated loans from China into yuan to reduce interest payments. Zambia, which became Africa's ​first pandemic-era sovereign defaulter in 2020, officially exited its debt default status in November 2025 after a restructuring process under the G20-led "Common Framework".

The copper exporter has also announced plans permitting some Chinese mining firms to pay taxes in yuan to reduce conversion costs as it services Chinese debt.

Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said the measure sought to align tax inflows with the currency in which a portion of Zambia's debt is denominated.

"The debt restructuring is concluding, but we still have to service the ⁠debt we borrowed in Chinese currency and have ‌to pay in Chinese currency," Musokotwane said, noting that currency conversion fees and commissions add to expenses.

Taxes paid in yuan are forecast to account for 15% ‌of total tax ⁠revenue this year, up from 2% in 2024, Musokotwane added.