Summary:
- The new credit will likely add to Uganda’s growing debt problems that prompted Moody’s last month to downgrade its country rating, citing “diminished debt affordability.”
- South Korea’s EXIM Bank will provide the loan, the ministry said in a post on X
Uganda has signed an agreement with South Korea for a $500 million (about Shs1.9 trillion) loan to help finance infrastructure building in the East African country, Uganda’s finance ministry said on Thursday.
Public debt: Each Ugandan is now indebted to a tune of Shs2.5m
South Korea’s EXIM Bank will provide the loan, the ministry said in a post on X. It didn’t provide details on what kind of infrastructure the money would fund but Uganda mostly borrows for road and energy projects.
The new credit will likely add to Uganda’s growing debt problems that prompted Moody’s last month to downgrade its country rating, citing “diminished debt affordability.”
As of Dec. 31, Uganda’s public debt stood at $24.6 billion, fuelled by infrastructure spending.
The agreement was signed by Uganda’s finance minister, Matia Kasaija and South Korea’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-Yul on the sidelines of the Korea-Africa summit in Seoul.
