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Overview

Chinese Government cancels $18.4 million of the Government of the STP’s outstanding debt obligations (Linked to Record ID#71266, #55639, #68381, and #55648)

Commitments (Constant USD, 2023)$19,579,925
Commitment Year•2017Country of Activity•Sao Tome and PrincipeDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•Sao Tome and PrincipeSector•Action Relating To DebtFlow Type•Debt forgiveness

Status

Project lifecycle

Completion

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Apr 12, 2017
Start (actual)
Apr 12, 2017
End (actual)
Apr 12, 2017

Stakeholders

Organizations involved in projects and activities supported by financial and in-kind transfers from Chinese government and state-owned entities

Funding agencies

Government Agencies

  • China Ministry of Commerce

Receiving agencies

Government Agencies

  • Government of São Tomé & Príncipe

Loan description

Chinese Government cancels $18.4 million of the Government of the STP’s outstanding debt obligations (Linked to Record ID#71266, #55639, #68381, and #55648)

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

According to a 2018 Public Debt Management report published by São Tomé and Príncipe (STP)’s Ministry of Planning, Finance and the Blue Economy, $18.4 million of STP’s outstanding debt obligations to the Chinese Government were cancelled on April 12, 2017. It is unclear which loans were forgiven; however, the IMF has characterized China's debt relief package to STP as involving 'pre-HIPC legacy arrears to China of US$18.4 million.' This action was the result of the resumption of bilateral ties between the two countries in late 2016.

Staff comments

1. SAIS-CARI identifies the value to the debts that were cancelled as $28 million. The IMF identifies the value to the debts that were cancelled as $18.4 million. AidData relies on the $18.4 million estimate reported by the Government of São Tomé and Príncipe’s Ministry of Planning, Finance and the Blue Economy. 2. This project is not marked as umbrella because the risk of double counting is low. AidData's dataset does not record any loans from China to São Tomé and Príncipe between 2000-2017, so the original loans were likely contracted before 2000. 3. The April 2017 meeting also produced several over agreements (as captured via Record ID#71266, #55639, #68381, and #55648).