RE: Another trading day begins....13 Oct 2025 05:30
Hogsnipe referring to Angola as “secretive” about its debt to China and that nobody knows which projects are still in hock isn't really accurate.
Angola does publish quarterly debt bulletins through its Ministry of Finance, showing total public debt, currency mix, and creditor breakdowns. As of late-2024, outstanding Chinese loans were around US $17–18 billion, roughly 40% of external debt – so yes, the largest in Africa, but hardly a mystery figure. Reuters and the IMF have both confirmed those numbers publicly.
The so-called “hidden” part relates to the terms of specific loans – interest rates, grace periods, collateral clauses – which are confidential like in many bilateral deals. That’s a far cry from the government being opaque about the overall debt picture.
For reference:
• The Benguela Railway rehabilitation (Lobito–Luau) was financed by China Eximbank and built by China Railway 20 Bureau, completed around 2015.
• The Lobito Port modernization (~US $1.2 bn) was also financed via Eximbank and constructed by China Harbour Engineering Co., handed over in 2013.
Both projects are now fully operational, and the Lobito Corridor is currently managed under a new Western-backed concession (Lobito Atlantic Railway), supported by the U.S. and EU’s PGI initiative — so those assets aren’t “in hock” to China anymore.
So, fair to say: Angola borrowed heavily from China, yes. But the figures are public, the projects are documented, and the “secretive” label doesn’t fit the facts that are publicly available