The world is gearing up for a battle over developing-country debt like few it has seen before. Rich and poor countries are at loggerheads with private investors that, over the past decade, replaced governments as the biggest creditors to emerging markets. Zambia looks set to become a case study in the clash over how to ease the debt load of developing countries that were ill-prepared for the financial pain inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic. Zambian government debt is on course to surpass 100% of gross domestic product this year, as the International Monetary Fund forecasts the economy will contract 5% —the prediction from October was for 1.7% growth. Without relief, it would need to spend more than a third of its revenue to service debt, and much more in coming years. In late May, the government appointed Lazard Ltd. as financial adviser, the first step toward a wholesale debt […]