At present we’re in a moment of both hope and fear. The vaccines are finally rolling out, and with them, we’re seeing a glimmer of a post-COVID world. But is that only a mirage? The decisions that will decide that answer are being made now. A key one will be how to get a global rollout to happen faster. The longer it takes, and the more piecemeal it is, the more ...
Category: Debt
Update on the Chinese Debt Situation in Africa
Chinese debt relief talks are underway in a number of African countries including Angola, Zambia, Kenya, and Ethiopia among others but you wouldn't really know it. Officials on all sides aren't saying much and there's relatively little press coverage on the ...
Researchers Want Official Washington to Know That China’s Actually Doing Quite a Bit to Relieve the Debt Problem in Africa
While U.S. policymakers are trying to come up with a new, more effective approach to challenge China's engagement in Africa, a trio of scholars at the Washington, D.C.-based China-Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University want to make it clear that Beijing is actually doing far more ...
Brautigam: Influence and Investment, Not Asset Seizures Are the Primary Drivers of Chinese Lending in Africa
China-Africa Research Initiative Director Professor Deborah Brautigam spoke recently with acclaimed Harvard researcher William Overholt in what was a fascinating discussion about the complexities surrounding the Chinese debt issue in Africa. Professor Brautigam laid out some of the findings ...
New Railway in Nigeria to Push Up the Country’s Debts to China
Although Chinese loans account for just 11.28% of Nigeria's external debt stock, a senior advisor to President Buhari warned this weekend that figure is likely to go up if/when the China Exim Bank approves the $5.3 billion loan to build the Ibadan-Kano portion of a ...
U.S., European Claims That the BRI Is in Trouble Are Way Overblown, Says Prominent Chinese Scholar
The sharp drop in Chinese overseas development finance lending documented by Boston University's Center for Global Policy Development among others has prompted critics of Beijing's Belt and Initiative in the United States and Europe to suggest that the massive global trade agenda is in trouble.
Fact Check: Angola is NOT a Good Case Study of Chinese Debt in Africa
The Economist Intelligence Unit's Global Forecasting Director Agathe Demarais characterized China's loan portfolio in Angola as "a good case study" for Beijing's financial engagement across Africa. "Not really," replied Hannah Ryder, CEO of the Beijing-based consultancy Development Reimagined, "it's ...
Spokesman: International Financial Institutions and Foreign Creditors Have More Responsibility Than China to Alleviate Africa’s Debt Pressures
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said China is not to blame for the burgeoning financial problems in Africa. " Not a single African country had debt difficulties due to its cooperation with China," he said in response to a question from Hunan Radio and ...
With Major Repayments to China Coming Due, Kenya’s Debt Servicing Costs Gobble Up More of the National Budget
Beginning in July, Kenya's debt repayment will cross the psychologically important barrier of 1 trillion shillings ($9.15 billion), according to the National Treasury, prompting renewed concerns over the country's ability to sustain a debt portfolio that has doubled in size since 2017.
Analyst: Nigeria on the Cusp of a Debt Crisis, But Loans From China Not to Blame
The Nigerian Debt Management Office on Monday revealed that it has $5.8 billion of borrowed money on its books that it hasn't disbursed. This prompted new worries among some financial analysts that the actual debt-to-GDP ratio has surpassed 100%, meaning that the country has taken on so ...
Africa’s Most Indebted Countries Caught in a Vice Between Creditors and Credit Ratings Agencies
Chad, Zambia, and Ethiopia are among a growing number of African countries seeking debt relief under the G20's common framework (CF) and while that might provide some temporary relief, one of the world's largest credit ratings agencies warned on Tuesday that it's going to come at a ...
Landry Signé: The U.S. Can Catch Up to China in Africa…But It Has to Move Fast
A robust discussion is underway in Washington, D.C.'s think tank and policymaking circles over what the Biden administration's future Africa policy should look like. Although there's been no formal announcement of any new initiative, there does seem to be an emerging consensus that the disproportionate focus on ...