Debt for Equity Swap

From Reuters Financial Glossary

When a debtor country, usually with economic problems or a deteriorating credit rating, uses its local currency to buy back its foreign debt at a discount in line with market conditions. Creditors then use that local currency to invest in companies in the debtor country, turning their debt into equity. The debtor country is said to have securitized its debt. The term is also used when a company cannot meet payments on its debt and exchanges the debt for shares in the company.