Chinese overseas lending / BGD
Bangladesh: debt owed to China
In 2021, Bangladesh is estimated to have owed China $9.65bn, equal to 2.3% of its GDP, which ranks it 14 of 126 borrowers in the panel by dollars owed. The estimated stock peaked at $9.65bn in 2021.
The estimated stock, 2000 to 2021
The largest single-year move in the estimated stock is 2020, when it rose by $2.10bn.
Source: Horn, Reinhart and Trebesch, China’s Overseas Lending. Selection: estimated stock owed to China by Bangladesh, by year and instrument, 2000 to 2021. Zeros are estimated zeros (no known loans outstanding), not missing values. Methodology
Historical loan records from the 2021 release
These records come from the 2021 HRT Mendeley replication release, not the November 2025 refreshed stock panel charted above. The refresh uses the updated Franz, Horn, Parks, Reinhart and Trebesch methodology, so this table cannot be reconciled to the chart. The earlier release marks 24 loan-level records for Bangladesh as part of its debt-estimate sample, spanning 2000 to 2017. Comparable commitments are available for 24 of those loans and sum to $7.04bn. These are gross commitments, not outstanding debt stocks. The stock methodology applies disbursement and amortisation profiles, with imputation where loan terms are missing, so the commitment sum must not be compared with the stock above. See the methodology. Terms are sparse by source: interest rate appears on 10 loans, grace period on 4, maturity on 6, any of the three on 10, and all three together on 4. The earlier file also carries 43 additional project rows for Bangladesh outside that sample, so they are not included in this table.
| Year | Project | Commitment, USD | Commitment, source currency | Terms | Creditor | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Oil Tanker Mooring Platform, Underwater and Onshore Pipeline ID: BGD_67 · Source: BU Energy | $694m | n/a | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower Central government |
| 2016 | Payra 1320 MX Thermal Power Plant Project (Kalapara Phase I) ID: BGD_66 · Source: BU Energy | $2.00bn | n/a | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower SPV |
| 2016 | 220 KM Pipeline in Chittagong ID: BGD_65 · Source: BU Energy | $550m | n/a | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower SOE |
| 2014 | China agrees USD705m for Bangladesh multi-lane tunnel ID: BGD_62 · Source: AidData | $705m | USD 705,000,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower Central government |
| 2014 | China offers hard loan of $224 million to Bangladesh to expand Barapukuria power station ID: BGD_64 · Source: AidData | $224m | USD 224,000,000 | rate 3.98% | grace n/a | maturity 13y | Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) State-owned commercial bank | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2014 | China loans Bangladesh $87 million to fund paper mill modernisation ID: BGD_63 · Source: AidData | $87m | USD 87,000,000 | rate 0% | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China National Machinery and Equipment Import & Export Corporation (CMC) State-owned enterprise | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2013 | China loans Bangladesh $240 million to buy 6 dredgers ID: BGD_58 · Source: AidData | $240m | USD 240,000,000 | rate 2% | grace n/a | maturity 20y | Unspecified Chinese government agency Unspecified Chinese government agency | Loan Concessional · borrower SOE |
| 2013 | China loans $227 million to build Pagla Water Plant in Bangladesh ID: BGD_57 · Source: AidData | $227m | USD 227,000,000 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | Unspecified Chinese government agency Unspecified Chinese government agency | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2013 | China loans $133m to digitally link Bangladeshi government offices ID: BGD_56 · Source: AidData | $133m | USD 133,000,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | Unspecified Chinese government agency Unspecified Chinese government agency | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2013 | Kodda Power Plant ID: BGD_61 · Source: BU Energy | $132m | n/a | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower Central government |
| 2013 | China provides $64 million in preferential buyer's credit to build Pagla Water Plant in Bangladesh ID: BGD_59 · Source: AidData | $64m | USD 64,000,000 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | Unspecified Chinese government agency Unspecified Chinese government agency | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2012 | EXIMbank loans US$290.8 million for Padma water treatment plant ID: BGD_55 · Source: AidData | $291m | USD 290,800,000 | rate 2% | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2010 | China Development Bank loans US$100 million for expanding telecom network ID: BGD_48 · Source: AidData | $100m | USD 100,000,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Development Bank (CDB) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower Private sector |
| 2009 | China Exim Bank provides $326 million loan to Bangladesh for construction of fertilizer factory ID: BGD_45 · Source: AidData | $326m | USD 326,000,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower SOE |
| 2009 | China's Exim Bank provides $325 million supplier credit to Bangladesh for construction of fertilizer factory ID: BGD_47 · Source: AidData | $325m | USD 325,000,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower SOE |
| 2009 | China Exim Bank provides $234 million loan to Bangladesh for construction of fertilizer factory ID: BGD_44 · Source: AidData | $234m | USD 234,000,000 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower SOE |
| 2008 | China provides 100 million yuan loan to Bangladesh for bridge construction ID: BGD_43 · Source: AidData | $14m | RMB 100,000,000 | rate 0% | grace n/a | maturity n/a | Unspecified Chinese government agency Unspecified Chinese government agency | Loan Zero-Interest Loan · borrower Central government |
| 2006 | EXIMbank concessional loans 216 million USD to upgrade telephone networks ID: BGD_36 · Source: AidData | $216m | USD 216,000,000 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower SOE |
| 2002 | China provides 50 million RMB interest-free loan for the 6th Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge ID: BGD_29 · Source: AidData | $6.04m | RMB 50,000,000 | rate 0% | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) Chinese government | Loan Zero-Interest Loan · borrower Central government |
| 2001 | Supplier Credit for Barapukuria Power Plant ID: BGD_26 · Source: AidData | $188m | USD 188,100,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China National Machinery and Equipment Import & Export Corporation (CMC), Shenzhen Energy Group Company Ltd., Shanghai Electric Group State-owned enterprise | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2000 | EXIMbank 1.26 billion CNY in export seller's credit for telecommunications project ID: BGD_23 · Source: AidData | $152m | RMB 1,260,000,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower Central government |
| 2000 | US$74 million in supplier's credit for power grid rehabilitation ID: BGD_25 · Source: AidData | $74m | USD 74,000,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | Unspecified Chinese government agency Unspecified Chinese government agency | Loan loan type n/a · borrower Central government |
| 2000 | US$29.11 million in seller's export credit for di-ammonia phosphate fertiliser plant ID: BGD_24 · Source: AidData | $29m | USD 29,110,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China National Complete Plant Import & Export Corporation Group (COMPLANT), China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) Multiple commercial creditors | Loan Commercial · borrower SOE |
| 2000 | 200 million RMB in preferential loan for di-ammonia phosphate fertiliser plant ID: BGD_22 · Source: AidData | $24m | RMB 200,000,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
Source: Horn, Reinhart and Trebesch, China’s Overseas Lending (2021 Mendeley replication loan file). Selection: 2021 replication loan records mapped to Bangladesh and flagged DebtEstimateSample = 1 in that release. This is an earlier source universe, not the records used for the November 2025 refreshed stock panel. CommitmentUSD is a gross commitment flow and is not comparable to the charted stock. Commitment stays in its source currency, and ProjectDescription is rendered as free-text data from the file. Methodology
Against what Bangladesh reports owing to all creditors
Bangladesh reported $91.48bn of total external debt to all creditors in 2021, of which $62.47bn is public and publicly guaranteed. The China estimate is 10.6% of the reported external total and 12.6% of the reported public and guaranteed stock. These are ratios of two different measurements, one estimated and one borrower-reported, and they are not a share of a single consistent total.
| Measure, 2021 | Estimated, owed China | Reported, all creditors | Ratio, % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total external debt | $9.65bn | $91.48bn | 10.6% |
| Public and publicly guaranteed | $7.84bn | $62.47bn | 12.6% |
Source: Horn, Reinhart and Trebesch, China’s Overseas Lending (estimated stocks), and World Bank International Debt Statistics, borrower-reported via the Debtor Reporting System (all-creditor stocks). Selection: estimated external and PPG stock owed to China in 2021 against Bangladesh's reported DT.DOD.DECT.CD and DT.DOD.DPPG.CD for the same year. Drawn swap balances are excluded from the estimated column: they are a central-bank liability the Debtor Reporting System's long-term-debt concepts do not carry. Methodology