Browsing: African debt restructuring

In the last 20 years, Africa’s external debt has grown fivefold to about $700 billion. According to Chatham House, a policy centre in London, Chinese lenders account for about 12 per cent of that amount. As of November 2022, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank considered 22 low-income African countries to either be in debt distress or facing potential external debt distress.…

Japan has pledged to prioritize quality over quantity in its aid to Africa. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has pledged to maintain and expand Abe’s interest in Africa.

Tokyo has always financed a variety of projects in different sectors. A decade ago, Japan financed a new container terminal in Mozambique’s port of Nacala and Kenya’s main port, Mombasa. Now, renewables are favoured to promote development and maximize Japanese expertise.

Tokyo financed the April completion of Unit 6 at Kenya’s Olkaria geothermal site. It provided a US$746 million low-interest loan to finance the new project and the transmission lines needed to connect the plant to the rest of the country. Fuji Electric Global and Marubeni Corporation did the work. Japanese firms supply more geothermal turbines than the rest of the world combined, and JICA finances geothermal projects worldwide.…