In December 2018, a leaked letter from Kenya's Auditor General (AG) warned that Kenya Ports Authority's assets-of which Mombasa Port is the most valuable-risked being taken over by China Eximbank if Kenya defaulted on the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) loans. The rumor that Kenya had used Mombasa...

In December 2018, rumors began circulating that Kenya had staked its valuable Mombasa Port as collateral for US$ 3.6 billion in Chinese loans for the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). New research from CARI shows why the collateral rumor is wrong. A CARI team of scholars and practitioners of...

This paper examines over 100 reported African hydropower projects with Chinese engagement, gleaned from media reports and lists compiled by organizations like AidData and International Rivers. The paper primarily finds that the Chinese are funding considerably fewer large hydropower projects...

As China's economic boom has boosted domestic growth and income, higher wage costs are moving an increasing number of Chinese firms overseas. This presents a favorable opportunity for less developed countries in Africa and Asia to boost their export and manufacturing sectors, as well as...

Chinese loan finance is often misunderstood in Africa. This paper provides an overview of a new database on Chinese loans and describes the research methodology for collecting this data. The authors report on the scale of these loans, their African recipients, and the sectors where borrowers are...

In a thoroughly researched piece, Brautigam, Tang, and Xia offer a preliminary analysis of the nature of Chinese manufacturing investments in Africa, focusing predominantly on four countries -- Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania. Drawing on fieldwork conducted between 2014 and 2016, they...

As China is poised to become the world's largest creditor, concerns about debt sustainability have grown. Yet considerable confusion exists over what is likely to happen when a government runs into trouble repaying its Chinese loans. In this paper, the authors draw on CARI data to review the...

Zambia's debt difficulties hit headlines in November 2020 when the country defaulted on its Eurobond payments. In August 2021 a new president, Hakainde Hichilema, took office, facing a debt burden that had never been fully transparent to Zambia's public and the world. In this Working Paper, CARI...

This policy brief provides an analysis of Chinese practice in financing large—over 50 megawatt (MW)—hydropower projects in Africa between 2000 and 2013. Hydropower energy has benefits as a renewable and local source of power, but there can be significant social and environmental risks. These...

In early December 2015, Chinese and African officials met in Johannesburg at the sixth Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) meeting. The 2015 FOCAC summit took place amid news reports of China's economic slowdown, and concerns over how Africa would be impacted. In this policy brief, Janet...