Economics
Time to Talk About Lebanese Debt Restructuring for Templeton
- Kronfol says Gulf aid isn’t enough to address long-term woes
- Lebanon struggling with one of world’s biggest debt burdens
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Lebanon should consider a voluntary debt restructuring to avert a financial crisis despite pledges of aid from Gulf benefactors, according to Franklin Templeton Investments, which manages $650 billion in assets worldwide.
A debt overhaul needs to be part of a reform program backed by lenders such as the International Monetary Fund, said Mohieddine Kronfol, the firm’s chief investment officer for global sukuk and Middle East and North Africa fixed income. Even better if that’s accompanied by a change in leadership at the Finance Ministry and the central bank, he said in an interview in Dubai.