Debt & Doses: Trinidad & Tobago Borrows Money From China to Pay For Chinese COVID-19 Vaccines

Photo via Sinopharm.

Colm Imbert (photo), finance minister of Trinidad & Tobago (TT), revealed this week that one of the terms in a new $204 million loan contract with China permitted the small Caribbean island state to purchase COVID-19 vaccines.

The minister explained that the loan contract stipulated that a certain percentage of the deal would include TT purchases of “Chinese elements” – aka goods and services from China — which in this case was allocated to vaccines made by Sinopharm. The minister explained that TT will allocate $25 million of the loan to acquire vaccines from Sinopharm.

  • Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis.
  • Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations.
  • Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South.

China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening.

Subscribe today for unlimited access.

OR

Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More
by Eric Olander

Most Read

1
Developing Countries’ Debt Servicing Costs to China Are Significant, but Nowhere Near as Much as Other Creditors
2 Chinese Military Fans Discuss Why Indonesia Bought Rafale Instead of J-10C
3
Indonesia Begins $5.9 Billion Chinese EV Battery Project Despite Environment Fears
4
China, U.S. Ink Rare Earth Deal; More Trade Pacts Coming
5
Chinese Cargo Planes Secretly Ferrying Supplies to Iran, Claim Online Sleuths
6
Six Million Donkeys Slaughtered for Chinese Medicine: Charity

You Might Like

G20 Reps Close Another Meeting Without Any Firm Commitments on Vaccines or Debt Relief For World’s Poorest Countries

In what’s becoming a predictable routine, high-level representatives from the world’s wealthiest countries get together, express anguish over the rapid spread of COVID-19 in developing countries, issue a call for more equitable distribution ...

After Two Years of Laying Low, Xi Emerges With a Flurry of Presidential Diplomacy on the Olympic Sidelines

Chinese President Xi Jinping emerged from nearly two years of relative diplomatic isolation on Friday for a flurry of one-on-one meetings with some of the 30 heads of state in ...

Kenyan Borrowing From Japan Surges as Chinese Lending Slows

New data from the National Treasury in Nairobi revealed a dramatic surge in borrowing from Japan, up 162% to more than $1.3 billion during the period of June 2018 to June 2019. The ...

World Bank: China Sinks Further Into Debt While Investors Seem to Love Buying African Sovereign Bonds

On average, the external debt burden of low and middle-income countries remains moderate. The ratio of external debt to GNI averaged 26 percent at the end of 2018, unchanged from the prior year ...

What is The China-Global South Project?

Independent

The China-Global South Project is passionately independent, non-partisan and does not advocate for any country, company or culture.

News

A carefully curated selection of the day’s most important China-Global South stories. Updated 24 hours a day by human editors. No bots, no algorithms.

Analysis

Diverse, often unconventional insights from scholars, analysts, journalists and a variety of stakeholders in the China-Global South discourse.

Networking

A unique professional network of China-Africa scholars, analysts, journalists and other practioners from around the world.

More about CGSP