Kenya: The Treasury has granted the East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) a four-year moratorium on the repayment of a US$15m loan borrowed in 1990, laying bare the firm’s financial difficulties. EAPCC borrowed the money in Japanese Yen from the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (JICA) in March 1990 but defaulted in 2016 after making only partial payments. This forced the government to step in and clear the loan on its behalf. The government cleared the company’s loan with JICA in March 2020.
New details now reveal that Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi entered an agreement with the company in July 2025, pushing forward repayment dates for the outstanding loan to start in September 2029. The government, through the National Treasury, has since entered into an agreement with the company setting out the terms and conditions for the loan repayment.
The agreements were entered into when the government was the controlling shareholder of EAPCC. However, the company got a new majority owner in December 2025 when Kalahari Cement, part of Tanzania’s Amsons Group, acquired a 68.7% stake after multiple transactions.