Details of Kenya’s New Chinese Loan Emerge

Kenyan President William Ruto (second from right) shaking hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit in Beijing in September.

Kenya will use a new loan from China to advance work on 16 different road projects, said a senior Treasury official. Kenya signed a new $279 million loan agreement with China Development Bank on the sidelines of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in September. 

John Mbadi, the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury, told reporters that the loan is concessional, in contrast to the high interest rates the country is being charged for Eurobond lending.

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by Cobus van Staden

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