Mozambique paid over €36 million to China for debt service in three months, according to data from the Ministry of Finance.
A report on debt management revealed that the debt service to China was the heaviest burden on Mozambique’s finances during this period, amounting to $35.51 million (€30.6 million) in repayments and $6.77 million (€5.8 million) in interest.
As of the end of June, Mozambique’s debt to China totaled $1.347 billion (€1.158 billion), making it the largest bilateral creditor, surpassed only by the IDA (International Development Association) of the World Bank Group among multilateral creditors, with $2.980 billion (€2.566 billion).
Meanwhile, the Chinese government forgave the interest on loans granted to Mozambique until 2024 and announced a donation of €12 million to the African country, as stated by Mozambican Prime Minister Benvida Levi on October 14.
“We received two positive news items from President Xi Jinping: one was the donation to our country of 100 million yuan (equivalent to €12 million) and the forgiveness of interest on loans granted to Mozambique until 2024,” Levi said, speaking to reporters after a two-day visit to China.
As of the end of the first half of the year, the debt to China represented 15% of Mozambique’s total external debt, which then amounted to $9.825 billion (€8.462 billion).
Without disbursements or debt service payments in this period, Mozambique’s indebtedness to Portugal reached $380.7 million (€327.8 million), only surpassed—besides China—by Japan, with $405.5 million (€349.2 million) at the end of June.
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