Category: Economy
Deborah Brautigam: Don’t Expect China to Cancel Africa’s Debts, They’ll Probably Just Reschedule Them
So long as there's no official word from the Chinese government as to how they specifically plan to address the $150 billion of outstanding debts that African governments owe Bejing, everyone's speculating as to how they'll likely proceed. Professor Deborah Brautigam, ...
Africa Emerges as a Key Theme in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Address to World Health Assembly
Chinese support for Africa and other developing regions around the world emerged as a key message point in President Xi Jinping's Monday address to the World Health Assembly (WHA) meeting. The WHA is the World Health Organization's governing forum, made up of health ministers. The president spoke ...
It Looks Increasingly Unlikely Africa Will be Able to Negotiate Package Debt Relief Deals With Either Private Creditors or the Chinese
Hopes for a consolidated African debt relief package from both private creditors and Chinese lenders appear to be fading. On Friday, news came that a coalition, the Africa Private Creditor Working Group or AfricaPCWG, representing 25 large asset managers and institutions had been formed to negotiate with borrowers.
Professor Carlos Oya: How Can Chinese Companies Create More and Better Jobs for Africans?
University of London Professor Carlos Oya is among the world's leading scholars on Chinese labor practices in Africa. Last July, he published a ground-breaking report that challenged widely-held perceptions about the quantity of Chinese imported labor in Ethiopia and Angola (90% of workers on Chinese ...
There’s an Interesting Debate Underway Among Scholars Over Whether China is Hiding Its Overseas Lending
A discussion over the extent of China's "hidden loans" in Africa and other developing regions has been bubbling all spring in Washington's think tank and scholarly circles. It all started back in late March when the Wall Street Journal published an article featuring
Kenya’s Dilemma: If It Wants G20 Relief Then It Can’t Issue More Bonds or Take out More Loans. So How Does It Close a Gaping Budget Deficit?
Kenya, and likely many other African countries, is in a bit of a pinch right now: it desperately needs to raise money to close an estimated $7.7 billion budget deficit. But if the Treasury wants to remain qualified for G20 debt relief then it can't go out ...
Time is Running Out For African Debt Relief
It must be weird for African finance ministry officials to watch how large governments around the world have moved with unprecedented speed to pass trillions and trillions of dollars in emergency relief aid to bolster their own economies. Even the completely dysfunctional U.S. Congress that passes fewer ...
This Chart Shows What African Union and UN Negotiators Are Desperately Trying to Avoid
Interest rates on Zambian 10-year bonds have more than doubled since January to an astonishing 38%. So, it's not surprising there's growing speculation that Lusaka will have no choice but to default on its $3 billion of bond holdings. ...
Al Jazeera: African Countries Turn to China for Debt Relief
Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Adow reports from Nairobi on how rapidly deteriorating economic conditions in East Africa due to the worsening COVID-19 outbreak is prompting more governments in the region to look to China for help... at least in terms of repaying their debts.
Paris Club Chief Says She’s Confident China Will Join International Debt Relief Effort for Developing Countries
The Chair of the Paris Club of wealthy donor states, Odile Renaud-Basso, is increasingly confident that China will join the broader international effort to provide debt relief to countries facing high levels of economic distress. In Africa, China has an ...
African Finance and Development Ministers Meet With Private Creditors to Try and Reach a Debt Suspension Deal
At least a dozen African finance ministers, along with several development ministers, spoke via video conference with more than 100 private creditors on Monday as part of an effort to reach a consensus over suspending some or all of the repayments to bondholders and other investors.
First Moody’s Now the IMF, Warnings About Kenya’s Debt Levels Are Starting to Pile Up
The International Monetary Fund raised Kenya’s risk of debt distress to high from moderate in a statement on Tuesday because of the costly impact of the worsening COVID-19 crisis. The IMF said that even though Kenya's debt load is still manageable, the ...