Agreement on Chinese debt relief for Angola in prospect

The Chinese Foreign Ministry says an agreement on relieving the pressure on Angola of its debt to China should be ready to sign soon.

A spokesman for the ministry, Wang Wenbin, told a press conference that representatives of Chinese financial institutions and the Angolan authorities had reached basic accord on a debt restructuring plan.

The state-owned Export-Import Bank of China had helped Angola apply to the International Monetary Fund for emergency financial assistance, and was ready to help Angola avail of a scheme by the G-20 group of countries for lightening the burden of debt borne by African states, Mr Wang said.

In June the Portuguese news agency, Lusa, reported that Angola owed China US$28.6 billion at the end of last year.