Mozambique repays over US$42 million to China in three months

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Mozambique repays over US$42 million to China in three months

2:11 CAT | 06 Nov 2025

FILE - For illustration purposes only. Chinese yuan banknotes are seen in this illustration picture taken April 25, 2022. [File photo: Reuters/Florence Lo/Illustration]

Between January and March, China remained Mozambique’s main bilateral creditor, despite the forgiveness of interest and a recent donation of US$14million announced by Beijing.

Mozambique paid over US$42.2 million to China for debt service in three months, according to data from the Ministry of Finance.

A report on debt management revealed that debt service to China was the heaviest burden on Mozambique’s finances during this period, amounting to US$35.51 million in repayments and US$6.77 million in interest.

As of the end of June, Mozambique’s debt to China totalled US$1.347 billion, making it the largest bilateral creditor, surpassed only by the IDA (International Development Association) of the World Bank Group among multilateral creditors, with US$2.98 billion.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government forgave the interest on loans granted to Mozambique until 2024 and announced a donation of US$14 million to the country, as stated by Mozambican Prime Minister Benvida Levi on 14 October.

“We received two positive news items from President Xi Jinping: one was the donation to our country of 100 million yuan (equivalent to US$14 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 US$9.825 billion.

Without disbursements or debt service payments in this period, Mozambique’s indebtedness to Portugal reached US$380.7 million, only surpassed — besides China — by Japan, with US$405.5 million at the end of June.

Source: Plataforma with Lusa