A report has revealed that two Chinese banks lend more to developing third world countries than the World Bank does.
The banks, China Development Bank (CDB) and the China Export Import Bank (CEIB) gave a staggering amount of approximately $110 Billion (8.9 Trillion) in loans and grants to governments and firms in these countries in the year 2009 and 2010.
According to a survey conducted by the Financial Times Newspaper between 2008 and 2010, the World Bank parted with only over $100 Billion (8.1Trillion) shillings as grants to these developing countries.
This funding and granting leaves a lot of questions unanswered especially to the Western clones on what China’s target is from these countries. The Chinese lenders are said to have a mandate to further whatever China’s headquarters (Beijing) lists as as its national interest. It also tries to open up foreign markets for Chinese companies and products and hence the close ties with the developing countries.
China has in particular had recommendable interests in Kenya. It is said to have lent a 51 Million US Dollars to Kenya’s Equity Bank for lending to small and medium business, other Chinese projects in Kenya include the expansion of Thika Road from a four to an eight-lane superhighway of its kind in East and Central Africa at an approximated cost of over 28 Billion shillings.
The Industrial and Commercial bank of China (ICBC) is said to be underwriting a US$ 500 million contract awarded to DongFang Electric Corporation for dams, turbines and electro-mechanical works in Lake Turkana in Northern Kenya.
Such projects when and if undertaken will see the improvement of infrastructure and development in developing countries.
Kelvin Mwangi
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