Suriname signs debt rescheduling with China, finance minister says

By Ank Kuipers

Suriname signed a debt rescheduling with China, Finance Minister Stanley Raghoebarsing told the National Assembly on Monday, with the head of the South American country's debt management office saying first repayments to creditors will come this year.

Suriname owes Chinese state-owned Exim Bank some $476 million, of which $140 million is in arrears, according to debt management office data from mid-2024.

Payments to Exim will be rescheduled in two phases, Malty Dwarkasing, the head of the debt management office told Reuters, while Suriname's debt to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China will be repaid in one tranche. As of end-June, Suriname owed $68 million to ICBC.

The country will make its first payment under the new deal after a contract for the rescheduling is received by November 22, Dwarkasing said.