Chinese overseas lending / CMR
Cameroon: debt owed to China
In 2021, Cameroon is estimated to have owed China $4.82bn, equal to 10.7% of its GDP, which ranks it 28 of 126 borrowers in the panel by dollars owed. The estimated stock peaked at $5.49bn in 2018.
The estimated stock, 2000 to 2021
The largest single-year move in the estimated stock is 2017, when it rose by $1.30bn.
Source: Horn, Reinhart and Trebesch, China’s Overseas Lending. Selection: estimated stock owed to China by Cameroon, 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 28 loan-level records for Cameroon as part of its debt-estimate sample, spanning 2007 to 2017. Comparable commitments are available for 28 of those loans and sum to $5.36bn. 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 23 loans, grace period on 23, maturity on 23, any of the three on 24, and all three together on 22. The earlier file also carries 58 additional project rows for Cameroon outside that sample, so they are not included in this table.
| Year | Project | Commitment, USD | Commitment, source currency | Terms | Creditor | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Memvele Hydroelectric Power States ID: CMR_85 · Source: BU Energy, JH CARI | $142m | n/a | rate 4.7% | grace 3y | maturity 15y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2017 | Photovoltaic System; Electrification of 350 Communities; Phase II ID: CMR_86 · Source: JH CARI | $123m | n/a | rate n/a | grace 2y | maturity 10y | Bank of China (BOC) State-owned commercial bank | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2017 | E-government Trade Facilitation Project ID: CMR_84 · Source: JH CARI | $33m | n/a | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2016 | Kribi Port Project; Phase II (EBC Part; total US$675million) ID: CMR_81 · Source: JH CARI | $525m | n/a | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2016 | Warak Hydropower Project on Bini River; Adamaoua 75MW ID: CMR_83 · Source: JH CARI | $289m | n/a | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) State-owned commercial bank | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2016 | Kribi Port Project; Phase II (CL Part; total US$675million) ID: CMR_80 · Source: JH CARI | $150m | n/a | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2016 | Project for the Rehabilitation of the CRTV ID: CMR_82 · Source: JH CARI | $62m | 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 |
| 2015 | Yaounde Potable Water Supply from Sanaga River (PAEPYS) ID: CMR_79 · Source: AidData / Gelpern et al. (2021), JH CARI | $678m | USD 678,300,000 | rate 4% | grace 4y | maturity 19y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2015 | National Broadband Telecommunication Network Phase II ID: CMR_78 · Source: AidData / Gelpern et al. (2021), JH CARI | $337m | USD 337,121,984 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2015 | E-National Higher Education Network ID: CMR_76 · Source: AidData / Gelpern et al. (2021), JH CARI | $149m | RMB 937,500,000 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2014 | China provides $386M loan to Cameroon for highway construction ID: CMR_74 · Source: AidData / Gelpern et al. (2021), JH CARI | $386m | USD 385,808,809 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2014 | China loans Cameroon 83 million USD for fiber-optic network extension ID: CMR_73 · Source: AidData / Gelpern et al. (2021), JH CARI | $83m | RMB 513,000,000 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2013 | 9 Cities Water Supply Project ID: CMR_65 · Source: AidData / Gelpern et al. (2021), JH CARI | $269m | RMB 1,653,018,596 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2013 | Cameroon National Emergency Telecommunications System ID: CMR_66 · Source: AidData / Gelpern et al. (2021), JH CARI | $156m | USD 155,550,000 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2013 | Purchase of two MA60 Chinese aircrafts ID: CMR_70 · Source: AidData / Gelpern et al. (2021), JH CARI | $70m | RMB 430,000,000 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2012 | China Exim Bank funds USD482.8M Cameroon road construction ID: CMR_62 · Source: AidData / Gelpern et al. (2021), JH CARI | $483m | USD 482,800,000 | rate 2% | grace 7y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2011 | Construction of Memve'ele Dam in Cameroon ID: CMR_56 · Source: AidData / Gelpern et al. (2021), JH CARI | $542m | USD 541,566,018 | rate 3.9% | grace 6y | maturity 16y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2011 | China loans $423 million for construction of seaport in Cameroon ID: CMR_54 · Source: AidData / Gelpern et al. (2021), JH CARI | $423m | USD 423,000,000 | rate 2% | grace 6y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2011 | China loans 33 billion CFA francs for Low-cost housing units ID: CMR_55 · Source: AidData / Gelpern et al. (2021), JH CARI | $70m | RMB 450,000,000 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2011 | China gives preferential loan for Cameroon electronic postal program ID: CMR_53 · Source: AidData / Gelpern et al. (2021), JH CARI | $67m | RMB 433,000,000 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2009 | Douala water supply project Phase II ID: CMR_44 · Source: AidData / Gelpern et al. (2021), JH CARI | $97m | USD 97,130,000 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2009 | Optical fibre backbone network ID: CMR_47 · Source: AidData / Gelpern et al. (2021), JH CARI | $52m | USD 52,000,000 | rate 1% | grace 5y | maturity 15y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2009 | Mekin Hydropower Station ID: CMR_46 · Source: AidData / Gelpern et al. (2021), BU Energy, JH CARI | $50m | RMB 337,000,000 | rate 2% | grace 4y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2009 | China Eximbank provides loan for Bafoussam and Limbe Stadium ID: CMR_39 · Source: AidData / Gelpern et al. (2021), JH CARI | $41m | RMB 280,000,000 | rate 2% | grace 6y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2009 | Engineering Machinery; Included in Rehabilitation Process of the State-owned Civil Engineering Equipment Pool (MATGENIE) ID: CMR_45 · Source: AidData / Gelpern et al. (2021), JH CARI | $14m | USD 14,000,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2007 | China Eximbank provides loan for CDMA lines ID: CMR_27 · Source: AidData / Gelpern et al. (2021), JH CARI | $46m | RMB 350,000,000 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 21y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2007 | Build a water treatment plant and water distribution pipeline in Douala ID: CMR_26 · Source: AidData / Gelpern et al. (2021), JH CARI | $23m | RMB 171,000,000 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2007 | Unknown ID: CMR_35 · Source: JH CARI | $4.00m | n/a | rate 0% | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) Chinese government | Loan Zero-Interest Loan · borrower Central government |
Source: Horn, Reinhart and Trebesch, China’s Overseas Lending (2021 Mendeley replication loan file). Selection: 2021 replication loan records mapped to Cameroon 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 Cameroon reports owing to all creditors
Cameroon reported $15.38bn of total external debt to all creditors in 2021, of which $12.38bn is public and publicly guaranteed. The China estimate is 31.3% of the reported external total and 34.8% 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 | $4.82bn | $15.38bn | 31.3% |
| Public and publicly guaranteed | $4.31bn | $12.38bn | 34.8% |
Source: Horn, Reinhart and Trebesch, China’s Overseas Lending (estimated stocks), and World Bank International Debt Statistics, borrower-reported via the Debtor Reporting System (all-creditor stocks). Selection: estimated external and PPG stock owed to China in 2021 against Cameroon's reported DT.DOD.DECT.CD and DT.DOD.DPPG.CD for the same year. Drawn swap balances are excluded from the estimated column: they are a central-bank liability the Debtor Reporting System's long-term-debt concepts do not carry. Methodology
Chinese restructurings involving Cameroon
1 deal recorded between Cameroon and Chinese state creditors. These are context, not accounting: the source records face-value reduction as a flag rather than a magnitude, so no haircut percentage exists for them, and nothing here is netted off the estimated stock above.
Creditor: China Ex-Im Bank
Rescheduling of Cameroon's debt to China: Two thirds of the debt service due between 2019 and 2022 (US$ 253 million) are rescheduled to be paid in after 2022 and within the existing maturity.
Acker et al. (2020), Bon & Cheng (2021)
Source: Horn, Reinhart and Trebesch, Hidden Defaults (World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 9925). Selection: every recorded restructuring agreement between Cameroon and a Chinese state creditor. Face-value reduction is a 0/1 flag in the source, not a percentage; the badge appears only where the source sets it. Methodology