After building spree, just how much does the Maldives owe China?
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS NOVEMBER 23, 2018 / 8:43 AM / UPDATED 9 HOURS AGO
After building spree, just how much does the Maldives owe China?
Sanjeev Miglani, Mohamed Junayd
6 MIN READ
MALE (Reuters) - One week after taking power, the new government of the Maldives says it has no idea how much it owes China, which has led a construction spree in the tiny Indian Ocean nation, but fears the debts run up in the past five years could be unsustainable.
Mohamed Nasheed, a former president now serving as advisor to new President Mohamed Ibrahim Solih, said that the Chinese ambassador to the Maldives, Zhang Lizhong, handed the government an invoice for $3.2 billion - equivalent to around $8,000 for every inhabitant of the archipelago. China denies that, however, and says the number is closer to $1.5 billion.
It was an invoice. It just had a figure, $3.2 billion. It was shocking, said Nasheed. It wasnt just a conversation, it was a written note handed over, it was clear, you owe us this much.
Nasheed said Zhang gave Solih the note at a meeting on Oct. 6, days after his stunning election victory over former President Abdulla Yameen. He did not give further details of exactly how the note was worded.
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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-maldives-politics-china/after-building-spree-just-how-much-does-the-maldives-owe-china-idUSKCN1NS1J2