Kenya’s Chinese Debt Swap Comes With a Hidden Currency Risk

The Kenyan Treasury last month announced a breakthrough in its years-long effort to restructure billions of dollars still owed to the China Exim Bank that were used to build the Standard Gauge Railway.

The two sides agreed to convert the remaining $3.5 billion of debt from higher-interest-rate U.S. dollar-denominated loans to more affordable yuan-denominated loans, which would potentially generate $215 million in savings for the Treasury.

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by Eric Olander

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