Tunisia's vital tourism sector could lose $1.4 billion and 400,000 jobs this year due to the coronavirus, an official document showed, as the country sought a loan guarantee from its bilateral partners to issue sovereign bonds this year.
In a letter sent to the International Monetary Fund, Tunisia's central bank governor and finance minister said that the country's economy will shrink by up to 4.3 percent, the deepest recession since independence in 1956.
Tunisian Finance Minister Nizar Yaiche said international bond offering is “one of the options” in talks on a new program with the IMF.
“We are hoping to start as soon as possible a discussion about a new program that would reflect the vision, the strategy of the new government," Yaiche said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Tuesday.
The North African country is rushing to regain the confidence of markets with its Eurobonds trading close to levels investors consider to be distressed, which would make it difficult and expensive to issue new securities. A new government is also having to contend with a crisis that’s been especially damaging to tourism, agriculture, and industries vital to the economy.
The IMF on April 10 approved a $745 million emergency loan to support Tunisia’s response to the outbreak and ensure international reserves remain adequate. Tunisia has reported 726 cases of the disease, including 34 deaths. Its reserves are currently sufficient to cover 115 days of imports, above the critical level of three months.
Given the way the discussions have gone until now, “I am very confident the next phase will be very positive with the IMF,” said Yaiche.
Since the coronavirus pandemic roiled markets, Tunisia’s Eurobonds have sold off heavily. The yield on Tunisia’s euro-denominated bond due 2026, which it issued last July, has almost doubled to more than 10%, from the all-time low of 5.8% reached in February.
