Maldives' total debt amounts to MVR 86 billion by the end of 2020, MVR 44 billion of which is external debt, reported The Island Online. Forbes, collecting data from The World Bank report as of 2020, said that 97 countries across the globe are under Chinese debt.
Citing data collected from the World Bank, Forbes said that 97 countries across the globe are under Chinese debt. Countries heavily in debt to China are mostly located in Africa, but can also be found in Central Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
China has become the world's largest government creditor to the developing world. Now it's facing the prospect of having to restructure debt to multiple countries at the same time. That will be high on the agenda of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank's annual meetings later this month.
Which Country Owes the Most Money to China? Venezuela is the country with the greatest sovereign debt exposure to China, in terms of direct lending (excluding portfolio holdings), according to AidData's 2021 study, totaling $74.7 billion.
Of 24 African countries that spent more than 15% of government revenue servicing debt in 2021, six countries - Angola, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Zambia - sent over a third of debt payments to Chinese lenders. Other private creditors accounted for over a third of payments in 12 countries.
U.S. debt to China comes in the form of U.S. Treasuries, largely due to their safety and stability. Although there are worries about China selling off U.S. debt, which would hamper economic growth, doing so in large amounts poses risks for China as well, making it unlikely to happen.
Collating numbers released in the IMF's quarterly update on foreign exchange reserves, RBC's Sydney-based fixed income strategist Michael Turner said it appeared China held around $130 billion of the $730 billion Australian Government and quasi-government bonds in the market.
This continues the trend of increasing debt since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Since the beginning of the pandemic, Australian Government gross debt has increased from $534.4 billion in March 2019 to $894.9 billion as of 28 October 2022.
It is not surprising that China is now facing widespread financial distress, with more to come as the property sector's woes emerge within the financial system. A credit bubble of historic proportions that drove China's growth over the past decade is currently unwinding, and slowing the economy as a result.
While this number may seem large, the total amount of U.S Treasuries outstanding is more than 30 trillion dollars. And, China isn't even the largest foreign holder of American debt.
How much money does the U.S. owe to China? China owns roughly $1.08 trillion worth of U.S. debt. 2 This amount is subject to market fluctuations. The value will change whenever China trades Treasury securities or when the prices of those bonds change.
A Chinese Debt Trap (CDT) notion now similarly portrays China as lending to corrupt and inept foreign rulers to build useless infrastructure, expecting the borrowers to default. China can then seize state assets and further its drive to world domination.
The best example can be taken from Hong Kong (it is a one of the debt free countries), whose economy has the least debt to GDP ratio. It is an almost debt free country. It has a well-regulated financial system and large foreign reserves. Its per capita GDP is the highest in the world, around £ 32,000.
Credit to the nonfinancial sector came to $51.87 trillion, or 295% of gross domestic product, to mark the highest debt-to-GDP ratio in data going back to 1995, in statistics released Monday by the Bank for International Settlements.
Total state debt across the six states is set to reach $688 billion (27% of GSP) by 2025-26, led by Victoria ($226 billion) and NSW ($221 billion).
The majority (two-thirds) of our government debt is held by non-resident investors. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the United States and the United Kingdom are the biggest investors followed by Belgium, Japan and Hong Kong (SAR of China).
China is Australia's largest two-way trading partner in goods and services, accounting for nearly one third (31 per cent) of our trade with the world.
Australia in top 5 for highest household debt
According to OECD data, the average Australian household has debt of around 210.07% of their net yearly income. ¹ In layman's terms, Australians are spending a lot more than we're earning. But why is that?
Consequences of Owing Debt to the Chinese
If China called in all of its U.S. holdings, the U.S. dollar would depreciate, whereas the yuan would appreciate, making Chinese goods more expensive.
If China's sales of bonds drive up rates, whoever gets the dollars would likely turn around and buy US bonds. The result? No fewer dollars or bonds in the world. The US debt that China owns is more problematic for China than it is for the US.
The public holds over $24.29 trillion of the national debt. 1 Foreign governments hold a large portion of the public debt, while the rest is owned by U.S. banks and investors, the Federal Reserve, state and local governments, mutual funds, pensions funds, insurance companies, and holders of savings bonds.