Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On November 16, 2006, China Eximbank and the Government of Equatorial Guinea signed a $2 billion buyer’s credit facility agreement (互惠贷款) for various infrastructure projects. All subsidiary loans approved under this buyer’s credit facility agreement carry the following terms: a 5.5% interest rate, a 5 year maturity, a 2 year grace period, a 0.375% commitment fee, and a 0.5% risk guarantee (garantia del riesgo) cost. The subsidiary buyer's credit loans under the $2 billion facility were secured with (i.e. collateralized against) minimum cash balances in an escrow account opened by Government of Equatorial Guinea in China Eximbank. Under the original terms of an Account Settlement and Financing Agreement (Convenio de Liquidacion de cuentas y Financiamiento) that the parties signed on February 17, 2006, the minimum cash balance requirement was reportedly equivalent to 30 percent of the Government of Equatorial Guinea's outstanding stock of debt to China Eximbank. After the Account Settlement and Financing Agreement was amended on March 26, 2010, the borrower was expected -- at any given point in time -- to maintain a minimum cash balance in the escrow account (also known as 赤道几内亚共和国财务预算部) equivalent to the value of its next set of semi-annual principal, interest, and fee payment obligations to the lender. The borrower was also expected to deposit the cash proceeds from its oil export sales (crude oil sales revenue) to China into a payment reserve account (also known as 还款准备金 or 赤道几内亚共和国财务预算部还款准备金). More specifically, the borrower was expected to deposit the cash proceeds from six oil cargoes into the payment reserve account. In 2011, China Eximbank and the Government of Equatorial Guinea signed a $830,730,134.01 (EUR 621,121,000) subsidiary buyer’s credit loan agreement for a Technical Assistance Project. The loan disbursed $60,419,108.18 (EUR 43,392,062.76) as of 2011 and $85,297,480.77 as of 2012. Its principal amount outstanding was $60,419,108.18 (EUR 43,392,062.76) in 2011, $85,297,480.77 in 2012, $78,073,946.77 in 2013, $56,749,578.77 in 2014, $35,425,210.77 in 2015, $14,100,842.80 in 2016, and $0 in 2017. The purpose of the project was to provide technical assistance. Its implementation was overseen by Equatorial Guinea’s Ministry of Public Works (Ministerio de Obras Publicas). No additional implementation details were available as of March 2025.
Staff comments
1. The Spanish project title is Asistencia Técnica. 2. As of 2021, neither Boston University's Global Development Policy Center nor SAIS-CARI recorded the China Eximbank loan for the Technical Assistance Project. 3. The loan's precise commitment date is unknown. It is currently coded as January 1, 2011 based upon the first year in which the loan appears in the Ministry of Finance Statements on Equatorial Guinea's External Debt Situation (see https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/20hjuaclx0huk36o4oqnf/Ministry-of-Finance-Statements-on-Equatorial-Guinea-s-External-Debt-Situation-2009-2019.xlsx?rlkey=sj7qii1zooaiwdi649d1yri1k&dl=0). This issue warrants further investigation. 4. The loan's face (commitment) value is recorded in the Ministry of Finance Statements on Equatorial Guinea's External Debt Situation (see https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/20hjuaclx0huk36o4oqnf/Ministry-of-Finance-Statements-on-Equatorial-Guinea-s-External-Debt-Situation-2009-2019.xlsx?rlkey=sj7qii1zooaiwdi649d1yri1k&dl=0).