Warnings of default in Laos are misguided
25/8/2022: Laos faces unprecedented financial difficulties but, unlike Sri Lanka, Laos is unlikely to default on its external debt obligations. China, its largest creditor and political ally, does not want to be seen as an irresponsible lender by other developing Asia Pacific or indeed African nations.
Source: East Asia Forum
Zimbabwe chokes on $13 billion China loans
20/7/2022: Zimbabwe is choking under mounting international debt as it begins to pay the price for borrowing heavily from China for infrastructure projects. Debt relief strategies may depend on genuine political and economic reforms.
Source: The East African
Aid Transparency Index finds decline in standards
13/7/2022: The 2022 Aid Transparency Index has fallen slightly, the first time the index has not recorded an improvement. The African Development Bank’s sovereign portfolio was identified as the most transparent.
Source: Devex
Private lenders should participate in African debt relief
11/7/2022: African governments owe three times more debt to Western banks, asset managers and oil traders than to China, and are charged double the interest. Campaigners are calling on private lenders to take part in the G20’s debt relief scheme.
Source: Debt Justice
Aid Transparency Index at risk of closure
24/6/2022: The Aid Transparency Index, which scrutinizes aid data from the biggest donors, is at risk of closure if it cannot find more funding by the end of the year. The index is a biennial tool produced by Publish What You Fund, a UK nonprofit, which assesses data submitted to the International Aid Transparency Initiative by the world’s major aid agencies.
Source: Devex
UN troubled by impending cuts on development aid
30/5/2022: UN agencies are increasingly concerned that military support for Ukraine provided by the US and EU totalling $60 billion will lead to cuts in overseas development assistance. Poorer countries face rising debt difficulties, initially from the COVID-19 pandemic, and now the global grain supply crisis.
Source: Inter Press Service
Africa records strong recovery in remittances
25/5/2022: Remittances to sub-Saharan Africa grew 14 percent to $49 billion in 2021, the strongest gain since 2018, even as the continent remained the costliest developing region to send money. The average cost of remitting $200 ranged from 3.4 percent to 31.5 percent.
Source: The East African
Relief for Zambia as China joins its debt resolution
29/4/2022: Zambia’s push for a resolution to its debt crisis received a major lift after China committed to join international efforts to restructure Lusaka’s debt. Beijing has emerged as the largest lender for most African countries and Zambia’s situation may be the first of many debt crises to be resolved.
Source: The East African
War in Ukraine will undermine aid to the world’s poor
15/4/2022: The unprecedented flow of arms to Ukraine, and the spending by European nations on refugees and defence, are threatening to undermine development aid to the world’s poorer nations. The UN is concerned that urgent support is needed to get back on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Source: Inter Press Service
COVID-19 assistance to developing countries lifts foreign aid in 2021
12/4/2022: Foreign aid from official donors rose to an all-time high of $179 billion in 2021, up 4.4% in real terms from 2020, according to preliminary data. The 2021 total is equivalent to 0.33% of the donors’ combined gross national income, unchanged from 2020 and still below the UN target of 0.7%.
Source: OECD