Cameroon6 May 2021 10:00
https://www.investiraucameroun.com/economie/0605-16341-dons-annulations-de-creances-pekin-essaye-d-alleger-le-poids-de-sa-dette-sur-yaounde-mais-le-fardeau-reste-lourd
(Business in Cameroon) - The Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development (Minepat) and the Chinese Ambassador to Cameroon signed two agreements on May 4. The first concerns a “donation without counterpart” of more than 25 billion FCFA. "This sum will make it possible to finance development projects to be identified by mutual agreement" , explained Alamine Ousmane Mey. The second agreement aims for "the cancellation of certain interest-free loans" for an amount of more than 10 billion FCFA. It is actually a regularization of a debt cancellation that took place in 2020.
"These highly laudable actions of the Chinese government are in line with the commitments made by the Chinese president on the occasion of the Beijing summit and the virtual extraordinary summit on solidarity in the fight against Covid-19", explains the Minepat . “These two signed documents are very important in relations between our two countries (…). They will support Cameroon's efforts to develop its economy and improve the standard of living of the population, ” Ambassador Wang Yingwu said.
These Chinese gestures come after others. Indeed, according to the Autonomous Amortization Fund (CAA), public debt manager, Beijing canceled, in 2019, debts of around CFAF 21 billion that Yaoundé should have settled in 2018. As recalled by Minister Alamine Ousmane Mey, the same year, the Middle Kingdom agreed to postpone, beyond 2022, the repayment of a debt of FCFA 148 billion due over the period July 2019-March 2022.
Debt service still high
In 2020, according to the CAA, China postponed the repayment of nearly CFAF 30 billion in debt, as part of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI). By the end of March 2021, Beijing had already done the same for more than 15 billion in debts that should have been repaid this year. They will now be reimbursed from 2022 to 2025.
Despite all these initiatives, debt service owed to China continues to be Cameroon's highest, according to CAA figures. Yaoundé repaid 117 billion FCFA to Beijing in 2020, while the interest payment of the 2015 Eurobond, second on the list, is 38 billion. It should repay, according to the forecasts of the public debt manager, more than 166 billion in 2021, 229 billion in 2022 and 205.9 billion in 2023, or respectively 38.3, 37.5 and 28.4% of the total service. debt.
As of March 31, 2021, the debt to China stood at CFAF 1,931.2 billion, or 61.9% of bilateral debt and 28.2% of foreign debt. The 31 billion canceled debts therefore represent barely 1.6% of the stock of current debt owed to the Middle Empire.
Ludovic Amara and Aboudi Ottou
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