Ethiopia in talks with China to convert billions in debt from USD to yuan

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Ethiopia is in talks with China to convert some of Addis Ababa's $5.38-billion debt to Beijing into lower-interest-rate, yuan-denominated loans. The move comes amid China's broader effort to expand the use of its currency worldwide.

Ethiopia's central bank governor, Eyob Tekalign, held meetings to discuss the issue with officials from the Export-Import Bank of China and the People's Bank of China during a visit to Beijing last month, Bloomberg reported on 20 October.

“China is a very important partner for us now, there is a growing volume of trade, investment,” Tekalign said.

“So it really makes sense to arrange some currency swap, but in terms of converting these things as well. So absolutely, this is something in the making – we've requested officially and then working on it.”