Country: Kenya
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The Chinese Future of African Television
In December 2021, the U.S. confirmed that President Joe Biden will boycott the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing in February. But already before the end of November, China had signaled it was working towards lessening the public diplomacy fallout of such gestures. As part of the ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: Kenya’s Monetary System Struggling Under the Weight of Chinese Debt Servicing Obligations
The demands of servicing debts, largely to China, are weighing heavily on Kenya's monetary system. The shilling dropped again in Monday trading and the central bank reported that foreign exchange reserves have plunged by $899 million over the last three months. Analysts say beyond the hundreds of millions ...
Kenya Caught in a Potentially Dangerous Loan Repayment Cycle Due to Its SGR Debts to China
There's growing concern that the depreciating value of the Kenyan currency is tied to the country's mounting debt servicing costs to Chinese creditors. Back in July, the Kenyan Treasury began repaying the loans used to build the Standard Gauge Railway after the China Exim Bank refused the ...
Don’t Worry Africa… China Isn’t Going to Seize Your Assets, But They’re Also Not Going to Forgive Your Debts
There is a sense of anxiety over Chinese debt in several African countries and beyond. From Zambia to Kenya, Uganda, and now even in the small Balkan country of Montenegro. Repeated assurances from China and borrowing countries that the debt situation is under ...
With China on the Sidelines, What’s Next for African Infrastructure Financing?
For much of the past two decades, China was among the largest sources of African infrastructure financing. But that is no longer the case. In his recent keynote address at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation conference in Senegal, Chinese President Xi ...
As the Nairobi Expressway Nears Completion, New Concerns That It Will be Just a “Road for the Rich”
The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeHNA) is trying to reassure the capital's beleaguered motorists that the nightmare traffic congestion caused by construction of the 27-kilometer Nairobi Expressway will soon be over. KeHNA officials said this week that the work is now 70% complete and China ...
Why the Era of Low-Cost Imports From China May be Coming to an End in Africa (At Least For Now)
The ongoing supply chain disruptions are having a profound impact on the types of goods that consumers in Africa and other Global South countries can access. It used to cost just $1,000 per container to ship low-cost socks, shoes, electronics, and other ...
The Uganda Airport Story and FOCAC Spark More “Bad Takes” in Both Chinese and African Media
The editors at Nigeria's Punch newspaper are apparently still unaware that the story about Uganda's Entebbe International Airport being seized by China as part of a debt default is not true. If they knew that the rumor had been conclusively debunked, ...
The Uganda Airport Controversy is Prompting Renewed Discussion in East Africa About Chinese Debt
The last two weeks' uproar over (unfounded) allegations that Uganda will forfeit the Entebbe International Airport is finally winding down. It's making way for a more nuanced, thoughtful discussion on the implications of Chinese loans to East African countries. Economist and ...
Chinese Diplomats Push Back on Claim Beijing is Cutting Back on Financial Support For Africa
China's ambassador to Kenya, Zhou Pingjian, challenged assertions that Beijing is reducing its financial support for Africa. "I can assure you, the financial support from China to Africa will only increase. It will never reduce,” he told journalists at a press conference in Nairobi on Friday.
In State of the Nation Address, Kenyatta Called For Kenya to Become the World’s Next “Asian Miracle”
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta delivered his eighth and final State of the Nation address on Tuesday and used the occasion to justify the massive expansion of the country's debt as part of his plan to accelerate economic growth, much the same way a small group of Asian ...
Finally, Some Good News For Kenya’s Embattled Standard Gauge Railway
While Kenya struggles to repay billions of dollars of loans to the China Exim Bank used to build the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), the government is getting a badly-needed boost from higher cargo and passenger volumes. Kenya Railways this week reported ...