China now owns

China now owns more than half of Kenya’s external debt

Kenya secured a $600 million loan from China last week to help towards paying for a $6 billion budget deficit that the government expects this year. The loan, one of many China has given to the country over the years, helps Kenya’s goal of bringing down its budget deficit to 7.9% of gross domestic product instead of the previously forecast 8.7%.

But it also raises the prospect of whether East Africa’s largest economy is growing too indebted to China. China is now Kenya’s largest creditor, accounting for 57% the country’s total external debt (pdf, p.37) of $4.51 billion, according to the World Bank. That figure has grown quickly. Chinese loans to Kenya grew an annual rate of 54% between 2010 and 2014 while loans from other lenders like Japan and France fell.

“Kenya still has a heavy debt burden and China’s loans can bring debt to unsustainable levels. Some of China’s loans are non-concessional, which can raise debt to GDP levels quickly,” a World Bank report on China’s impact in Kenya in May concluded.
http://qz.com/707954/china-now-owns-more-than-half-of-all-of-kenyas-debt-2/
The Real Style ------- NP 2016