Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of debt owed by countries eligible for G20 Common Framework on Debt Treatments applies to (a) non-official creditors owed to entities resident in the UK and (b) private creditors governed by English law as at 7 December 2020.

The UK strongly supports the Common Framework for future debt treatments which will facilitate quicker and simpler restructurings where required. A total of 77 of the least developed countries are eligible for treatment under the Common Framework.

Under the Common Framework, private sector creditors will be required to implement debt restructurings that are at least equivalent to those agreed by official creditors.

We do not hold a breakdown of the proportion of these countries’ debt that is owed to private creditors governed by English law or entities resident in the UK. However, in 2019 the IMF assessed that 45% of the total outstanding stock of international sovereign bonds by nominal principal amount are governed under English law.