#KENYA: Chinese Debt Paid Through Borrowing

[world politics news]

Kenya paid off a Chinese principal loan of Sh17.5 billion with another debt in the last financial year exposing the country’s limited reserves, a National Treasury document shows.

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#EGYPT: Small Leftist Party Draws Attention To "Excessive Foreign Borrowing" In National Budget

[world politics news]

MP Farid El-Biaddi, a member of the leftist-oriented Egyptian Social Democratic Party, announced in a statement on Wednesday that the party's seven deputies have voted against approval of the state's 2020/21 budget.

El-Biaddi said the balance sheet of the 2020/21 budget showed that the government has been heavily involved in "foreign borrowing." 

Figures released by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) on Monday show that Egypt's foreign debt rose to $145.5 billion at the end of the second quarter of the current fiscal year, from $137.4 billion at the end of the same period of FY 2020/19.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#KENYA: Officials Say China Can't Seize Port If It Defaults On Debts

[world politics news]

Authorities in Kenya have allayed fears that China will seize the Port of Mombasa if the country defaults on loans procured to finance the loss-making Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). 

The project is part of China's worldwide "Belt and Road Initiative," meant to facilitate World trade, and some say, to entrap poor Nations in debt and seize their assets when they inevitably cannot pay to loans back.

Many have speculated that China could seize the valuable Mombasa port if the country fails to make payments.

But National Treasury cabinet secretary Ukur Yatani said Kenya did not offer the strategic national asset as collateral for the $3.2 billion loan sourced from the Export Import Bank of China to finance the project.

“The port of Mombasa has no adverse exposure to any lender or category of lenders through existing loan agreements with the government,” said Yatani.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#EGYPT: Public Debt Shrank From 108% Of GDP To 90% In First Half Of 2019, Says Finance Minister

[world politics news]

 Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait says Egypt was able to decrease the public debt from 108% of the GDP in June 2017 to about 90% of GDP in June 2019. This means that financial control reached 18% of the GDP in only two years. Egypt achieved the highest real GDP growth in the Middle East and North Africa, recording 5.6% of GDP.

Maait said the public treasury made an early payment between July and December, recording about EGP 33bn in favour of pension funds, which represent the full interest dues to funds for the whole year instead of paying them in June 2020

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.