iCare Benefits currently has operations in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and hopefully soon in Myanmar. Through iCare, we have had the chance to meet local Ministers, Secretaries of State and other Government officials who have confidentially discussed their countries potential over-reliance on China. These officials were quick to highlight that the Belt-and-Road initiative is a double-edged sword and can trap smaller countries into a debt circle from which it is difficult to get out.
The Kiel Institute has now estimated that Laos and Cambodia are both in the top 6 of highest indebted countries to China as a % of GDP..
The question remains if these countries will be able to get out of this spiral, or will it lead to a Chinification such as the one already seen in the coastal city of Sihanouk Ville…
Pablo F. Alonso Caprile 