External Debt in Kenya averaged 1076.43 KES Billion from 2000 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 3771.81 KES Billion in November of 2020 and a record low of 361.73 KES Billion in May of 2003. Dominic Omondi | Beijing [China], February 16 (ANI): In yet another example of China's debt-trap diplomacy, Kenya has been roped in a deal with a six-month debt repayment holiday worth USD 245 million. Though the borrowing decreased significantly in 2017 compared to the years 2014 to 2016 Kenya’s borrowing from China currently stood at Sh980 billion as at the end of 2017. This is up from 42.8% in 2008. In the total amount paid to China (Kenya’s biggest lender), Ksh12.80 billion represented interest and Ksh2.63 billion principal sum. Break the monotony, excercise your problem solving skills. China has said it is holding talks with Kenya for a possible debt service suspension to help the country recover from the economic knocks of Covid-19. China has already suspended debt payment for 12 African countries and waived interest for matured loans for 15 other countries in the continent. China has already suspended debt payment for 12 African countries and waived interest for matured loans for 15 other countries in the continent. Kenya has secured a debt repayment moratorium from China which will save it 27 billion shillings ($245.23 million) in the period to June, its finance minister said on Wednesday. In the total amount paid to China (Kenya’s biggest lender), Ksh12.80 billion represented interest and Ksh2.63 billion principal sum. The debt to China can be attributed to Kenya's partnership with them in the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). To personalise content, tailor ads and provide best user experience, we use cookies. Conclusion: China holds just over 20% of Kenya’s external debt, not 70% In an article drawing attention to what it said was Kenya’s rising public debt, US-based website Quartz said “China now owns more than 70% of Kenya’s external debt”. Solve Cryptic Crossword Puzzle.. CORD yakashifu Serikali ya Jubilee huko kiwanja ya Kamukunji, Kenyan opposition CORD revives Eurobond debate, ANALYSIS: Which way forward for victims of Post Election Violence, Dozens of leading Hong Kong democrats charged with subversion, China's factory activity expands at a slower pace in February, China denies requiring US diplomats to take anal swab tests, Recover all grabbed public land countrywide, There is hope after a painful year, but keep your guard up. It cited treasury data used in an article by Business Daily, a Kenyan … That figure has grown quickly. This is up from 42.8% in 2008. The report, therefore, divulges that in the past one year, Kenya's economy accrued debt from China of about Ksh165 billion. China has revealed that it is ready to suspend Kenya's debt nearly a week after the country received the pardon from the Paris Club of international creditors.. Kenya had made a request for its overwhelming debt obligations to be temporarily suspended to allow the economy to recover from the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Ksh15.43 billion spent on servicing loans from China in the July-December 2018 period, represented 22.05 percent of the Ksh69.45 billion spend on total foreign debt. The deal was struck a week after the Paris club of creditors, an informal group of creditors offered the same debt-service suspension worth USD 300 million until the end of June 2021. This operation will allow the African country to reduce its debt burden, making it easier for the government to … Kenya’s debt profile: Chinese loans comprised 21% of Kenya’s external debt, compared with the World Bank’s 25% at the end of June 2020, according to a National Treasury report. Kenyan journalists have spent years investigating the SGR deals. The postponed repayment debt to China is $133 million above what the National Treasury announced last week. China stands ready to help Kenya deal with its debt challenges, it's embassy in Nairobi said on Monday (January 18) adding that both sides are holding "smooth" talks over the issues. Ambassador to Kenya, Kyle McCarter, a Trump appointee who’s been a vocal critic of Chinese engagement in Kenya and a proponent of the so-called “debt trap” allegation, will no doubt be ready to pounce should the trains stop running. In yet another example of China`s debt-trap diplomacy, Kenya has been roped in a deal with a six-month debt repayment holiday worth USD 245 million. The news comes only days after the Paris Club suspended loan repayments due between January and June 2021 for four years, estimated at close to Ksh 33 billion. Kenya’s current public debt stands at approximately 4.884 trillion Kenyan shillings (USD$49 billion) or 56.4% of the country’s gross domestic product.. The latest quarterly Economic and Budgetary Review report for the half-year period ended December 2019 by Treasury PS Kamau Thugge revealed that China scooped the lion’s share of Kenya’s debt repayment. The Kenyan government engaged in talks with China to secure a debt repayment suspension. Fox Business foreign policy analyst Walid Phares discusses how China may take control of Kenya’s largest port and President Trump’s Middle East strategy. China postponed Kenyan debt repayments due over the next six months, a week after the Paris Club of creditors offered the East African nation similar relief. Conclusion: China holds just over 20% of Kenya’s external debt, not 70% In an article drawing attention to what it said was Kenya’s rising public debt, US-based website Quartz said “China now owns more than 70% of Kenya’s external debt”. China postponed Kenyan debt repayments due over the next six months, a week after the Paris Club of creditors offered the East African nation similar relief. China lent Kenya extensive loans of more than $5 billion to build a standard gauge railway (commonly referred to as SGR), between Mombasa and Nairobi and highways in Kenya. In Kenya, where the level of debt has risen sharply in recent years, China accounts for 21% of external debt, just behind the World Bank (25%). The debt is predicted to increase even further in 2018 as the SGR enters its second phase with Kenya being claimed to have borrowed more money for the extension of the railway line from Nairobi to Naivasha. China is in talks with Kenya on a debt-service suspension deal, its embassy in Nairobi said, days after the Paris Club agreed to delay $300 million in payments by the East African nation. BEIJING: In yet another example of China's debt-trap diplomacy, Kenya has been roped in a deal with a six-month debt repayment holiday worth $245 million. China’s debt ballooned to Sh650 billion in 12 months to June 2019 after the country raked up more loans from Beijing to fund the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). But critics say China is saddling Kenya with unsustainable debt. Kenya was scheduled to pay 27 billion shillings ($245 million) to China from January through June. Razia Khan (a London-based Standard Chartered Bank chief economist for Africa) in her latest notes regarding Kenya stated the impending elevation of debt service repayment following the end of most grace periods granted by lenders. NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 20- China has offered Kenya a debt break of Sh27 billion that was due for payment between January and June 2021. Debt bubble: Kenya’s debt to China stood at $737m in 2014, the first year of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s presidency, before ballooning to $6.4bn in December, representing a 766% increase. China News: BEIJING: In yet another example of China's debt-trap diplomacy, Kenya has been roped in a deal with a six-month debt repayment holiday worth $245 mill. The Chinese embassy issued a vague statement on Monday that said both sides are holding “smooth” talks related to Kenya’s debt servicing challenges. Kenya owes Beijing at least Ksh3.2 trillion. China and Kenya have agreed to a six-month debt repayment holiday worth $245 million. China is by far Kenya’s biggest bilateral lender, constituting up to 21% of the country’s external debt by June 2020. The […] But in its first year of operation, the project reported losses equivalent to $98 million, rendering Kenya’s servicing of the loans unmanageable. Since 2013, Kenya has accepted more than $5 billion from China for sgr construction, making it the largest infrastructure project since the nation’s independence. 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. Debt repayments to China are recorded to have more than doubled from Ksh6.3 billion paid in the July-December 2016 period, to the Ksh15.43 billion spent on servicing loans from China during a similar period in 2018. Kenya’s debt-ceiling review not only shifts the goalposts but also changes the rules on how goals are scored, and that could move the government closer to debt distress. Treasury Secretary Ukur Yatani announced the deal during a radio interview on Wednesday when he said the deferral “will give us an opportunity and break on the kind of liquidity that we desire.” China News: BEIJING: In yet another example of China's debt-trap diplomacy, Kenya has been roped in a deal with a six-month debt repayment holiday worth $245 mill. China stands ready to help Kenya deal with its debt challenges and both sides are holding "smooth" talks over the issues, the Chinese embassy in Nairobi said on Monday. Kenya keen to renegotiate debt, fees with China as coronavirus hits unprofitable Mombasa-Naivasha rail line For its part, Beijing, accused of wanting to lock African countries into a "debt trap" seems to want to show its goodwill by suspending or writing off the debts of several of its partners on the black continent. Government Debt to GDP in Kenya averaged 54.63 percent from 1998 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 78.30 percent in 2000 and a record low of 38.20 percent in 2012. Ambassador to Kenya, Kyle McCarter, a Trump appointee who’s been a vocal critic of Chinese engagement in Kenya and a proponent of the so-called “debt trap” allegation, will no doubt be ready to pounce should the trains stop running. China has suspended debt repayments to Kenya over Covid-19 pandemic pressure.