Senegal Engages Sodali to Trace Bondholders Amid Debt Restructuring

Senegal has appointed advisory firm Sodali & Co to help identify the holders of its international bonds, as the West African country moves ahead with a plan to restructure billions of dollars in public debt.

A document shared with the media on Monday and signed by Finance Minister Cheikh Diba said the firm had been engaged to trace bondholders and "facilitate communications" with them. It added that any information collected during the exercise would remain strictly confidential and would be used only by the Republic and its advisers.

The bonds listed in the document include euro- and dollar-denominated debt maturing in March 2028, June 2031, May 2033, June 2037 and March 2048.

The step follows Senegal's announcement earlier this month of a debt "treatment" plan. The decision comes two years after President Bassirou Diomaye Faye's administration disclosed that the country's debt had been substantially understated by the previous government.

On the creditor side, a group of at least eight international bondholders has already been formed and has appointed White & Case as its legal adviser.