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Fears that China Will Seize Mombasa Port Unfounded: Upcoming Report

Throughout the last two years, Kenya has been rattled by reports that its debt to China for the troubled Standard Gauge Railway could lead to the seizure of the Port of Mombasa. Since then this story and the other ‘debt trap’ narratives like it have largely been debunked.

World Bank Raises the Alarm About African Debt Distress (Again)

For the second time in a week, the World Bank has raised the alarm about mounting debt in Africa. A new blog post shows that not only has public debt in Southern and Eastern Africa doubled over the last decade, but the proportion of pricy private debt is also ...

Chinese-Made Electric Buses Launch in Nairobi

The Kenyan mobility startup BasiGo has assembled its first electric buses, using components from the Chinese automaker Build Your Dream (BYD). BasiGo closed a $4.3 million seed funding round in February to assemble and sell electric-powered buses. The company plans to supply more ...

China Donates Trucks, Non-Lethal Equipment to the Kenya’s Military

For the second time in a month, China is providing an East African military with a sizable donation of non-lethal equipment and support vehicles. On Monday, Kenya's Defense Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa took delivery of dozens of trucks and unspecified "engineering equipment" during ...

Rising Debt and a Sinking Currency is a Bad Combination For Kenya

Kenya's embattled currency, the shilling, sank even further on Monday, dipping to an all-time low of 115 against the U.S. dollar, prompting renewed concerns that the country will soon face a dramatic economic reckoning.  The problem is that every time the shilling ...

A Glimpse Into Communist Party Outreach to Africa

Leaders of 17 political parties from 16 African countries participated in a video conference on Tuesday hosted by the Communist Party of China (CPC). While the theme "Modernization in line with national conditions: the exploration and practice of political parties in China and Africa" ...

Chinese-backed Asia-Africa-European Undersea Cable Makes Landfall in Kenya

Kenya's ICT minister Joe Mucheru gleefully welcomed the arrival of the 15,000-kilometer PEACE (Pakistan & East Africa Connecting Europe) undersea cable when it came ashore in the port city of Mombasa on Tuesday.  The $425 million ...

Kenyan Professor Explains Why China, Not the West, Became Nairobi’s Creditor of Choice

When Kenya embarked on its national infrastructure development agenda back in the early 2000s, policymakers didn't have a lot of options when it came to financing. Traditional lenders weren't interested and the cost of borrowing from banks was too expensive. Enter ...

China’s Minmetals Doubles Down on DRC Cobalt

The lure of greater access to the DR Congo's vast copper and cobalt reserves is drawing more Chinese mining companies to expand their investments in the country. Mining giant Minmetals Resources on Monday announced a $600 million deal to expand copper and cobalt extraction from its Kinsevere ...

Frozen Imported Chinese Fish Being Passed Off as Fresh Catch in Kenya

Unsuspecting shoppers at the fish markets in the western Kenyan city of Kisumu on Lake Victoria have been buying frozen imported fish from China that's being passed off by unscrupulous vendors as fresh catch. When reporters from ...

Excitement, Rumors in Nairobi about New China-built Expressway

The growing excitement in the Kenyan capital about the upcoming inauguration of its new Chinese-built Nairobi Expressway is also spawning a flurry of viral rumors. On Tuesday, The Standard newspaper published a fact-check article that debunked reports that the expressway has already opened to traffic. This followed widely ...

Kenya’s Struggles to Repay China Exim Bank Loan Hint at Wider Troubles

Kenya is struggling to make payments on a $156.7 million Chinese Exim Bank loan that financed Nairobi’s Southern Bypass road. The country’s auditor general, Nancy Gathungu says Kenya now owes the Chinese state bank $31.3 million in delayed payments for the period up to 2021. Kenya’s ...
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