Ethiopia has entered into loan agreements adding up to more than 1 billion US dollars in the last few months according to Hailemariam Desalegn Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia.
The loan agreements Ethiopia signed include arrangements with China for 612 million US dollars, with the United States for 52 million US dollars, with Saudi Arabia for 25 million US dollars, with the World Bank for 210 million US dollars and 1.4 million US dollars from the Czech Republic.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development has agreed to loan the country a further 100 million US dollars. Other existing agreements include 1.2 million US dollars from the European Union and 10 million US dollars from the United Arab Emirates.The African Development Bank will be financing the Ethio-Kenya hydro power connection through a loan of 240 million US dollars while the EU is to float a loan of 67 million US dollars for road development.
Loans extended to sub-Saharan Africa from the Export-Import Bank of China exceed sums that the region received from the World Bank, by 12.5 billion US dollars according to estimates offered by Fitch Ratings in a report.
The Chinese bank loaned an estimated $67.2 billion US dollars to sub-Saharan Africa which accounts for about 20% of the bank’s business said the report.
Ethiopia, Angola, Sudan and Nigeria have been significant recipients of loans from the Chinese bank although the bank currently has more widespread relationships across Africa.
Source: The Reporter/Bloomberg
