> My country took on many bad loans form the IMF, World Bank, etc. and all that borrowed money went into useless projects of the oligarch owned companies, and to pay off the massive debts, the country was forced to sell of various state assets (oil & gas fields, mines, etc) to western owned enterprises.
IMF / World banks loans are only given based on various factors which in include the ability to pay the loan back. They don’t take assets.
This is what happened with Sri Lanka. The IMF and World Bank refused loans because they deemed the risk high and chance of loans being paid back low.
China did the loans at a higher rate with projects being won by Chinese companies and forfeit of loans being given assets for 100 year leases.
You can try justify it anyway you want. China loans are debt traps. Plain and simple.
This is an ignorant take. The IMF wants to make loans to put the countries under debt. The debt is then used for political leverage. This has played out again and again for decades.
The IMF is happy to provide loans that they know can not be paid back, and they routinely allow corrupt officials to get juicy benefits from entering into those deals. The book Confessions of an Economic Hitman is a very sober expose on this process, written by a former IMF official who took part in it.
They don't take assets but to get money, they make you sell your assets to the western conglomerates of the western governments they're associated with. Got rich oil & gas fields? Great, because BP, Chevron, Halliburton, Total, Shell and Exxon are waiting in line to buy them below market value. You don't know how deep the corruption rabbit hole goes here.
>Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka was already too broke to be worth it. They have no natural resources for the international loan-sharks to profit off of. China can profit, not monetarily, but they can set up military bases around the Asia-Pacific to challenge the US's position in the region.
>China loans are debt traps. Plain and simple.
IMF & World Bank loans aren't that much different, unless you drank their cool aid. They're still debt traps for the population of those countries no matter how you try to spin it. I know this because I've lived through it and my relative living there are still paying the price. Have you?
IMF / World banks loans are only given based on various factors which in include the ability to pay the loan back. They don’t take assets.
This is what happened with Sri Lanka. The IMF and World Bank refused loans because they deemed the risk high and chance of loans being paid back low.
China did the loans at a higher rate with projects being won by Chinese companies and forfeit of loans being given assets for 100 year leases.
You can try justify it anyway you want. China loans are debt traps. Plain and simple.