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Overview

China Eximbank provides RMB 2 billion loan to National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of the Republic of Uzbekistan for on-lending to SMEs

Commitments (Constant USD, 2023)$282,468,162
Commitment Year•2023Country of Activity•UzbekistanDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•UzbekistanSector•Other MultisectorFlow Type•Loan

Status

Project lifecycle

Pipeline: Commitment

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Aug 1, 2023
First repayment (originally scheduled)
Jul 31, 2025
Last repayment (originally scheduled)
Jul 30, 2028

Stakeholders

Organizations involved in projects and activities supported by financial and in-kind transfers from Chinese government and state-owned entities

Ultimate beneficial owners

At least 25% host country ownership

Funding agencies

State-owned Policy Banks

  • Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank)

Receiving agencies

State-owned Banks

  • National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of the Republic of Uzbekistan (NBU)

Implementing agencies

State-owned Banks

  • National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of the Republic of Uzbekistan (NBU)

Loan description

China Eximbank provides RMB 2 billion loan to National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of the Republic of Uzbekistan for on-lending to SMEs

Grace period•2 yearsGrant element•14.2519%Interest rate (t₀)•4.8%Interest type•Fixed Interest RateMaturity•5 years

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

In August 2023, China Eximbank and National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of the Republic of Uzbekistan (NBU) signed an RMB 2 billion loan agreement. The borrowing terms of the loan include a 5-year maturity and a 2-year grace period. However, the loan's interest rate is unknown. It is known that the borrower is expected to on-lend to investment projects that support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Uzbekistan that are implemented with Chinese manufacturers and suppliers. These projects will be undertaken in areas such as information technology, telecommunications, alternative energy, electrical engineering, textiles, transportation, and industrial production.

Staff comments

1. The loan commitment date (August 2023) is identified on pg. 51 of NBU's Consolidated Financial Statements for the Year that Ended on December 31, 2023 (https://nbu.uz/upload/iblock/f69/q8e8n86imxlp5mp3us6s4nbbnxksap1w/nbu_ifrs_ye2023_eng.pdf). It appears that the parties signed a loan framework agreement on May 19, 2023. 2. As of August 2024, the NBU website stated that its USD-denominated China Eximbank borrowings were based on an interest rate of 6-month LIBOR plus a 3% margin and its RMB-denominated CDB borrowings were based on a fixed interest rate of 4.8% (https://nbu.uz/en/small-business/foreign-credit-lines/). For the time being, AidData assumes that the interest rate of the (August 2023) RMB-denominated loan from China Eximbank to NBU was equal to 4.8%. This issue warrants further investigation.