China Eximbank provides RMB 50 million loan for Textile Factory Construction Project (Linked to Record ID#32071)

Project narrative

In 1999, the Chinese Government pledged to provide an RMB 150 million loan to the Government Cambodia. The loan was ultimately provided through two separate subsidiary loans for two different projects. On July 26, 2000, China Eximbank and the Government of Cambodia signed an RMB 99.6 million subsidiary loan agreement for a Plywood Factory Construction Project (captured via Record ID#32071). Then, on December 25, 2000, China Eximbank and the Government of Cambodia signed an RMB 50 million loan for a Textile Factory Construction Project (as captured in this project). This loan carried the following terms: a 3% interest rate, a 5 year grace period, and a 20 year maturity. The Government of Cambodia reportedly used the loan proceeds to on-lend (at a 5% interest rate) to Thai Boon Roong Group, which was owned at the time by Teng Bunma (a businessman of Chinese-Khmer descent and one of Cambodia’s richest men) for the construction and equipping of a textile factory in Cambodia. Ngy Tayi, who was the Undersecretary of State for Cambodia’s Ministry of Finance at the time, said that the textile factory would manufacture cloth, provide jobs for thousands of Cambodians, and generate much-needed tax revenue for the country.