China Eximbank provides $36.9 million for Palace of Justice Courthouse Construction Project (linked to #42029)

On 28 November, 2003, China and Angola signed a framework agreement pertaining to a special economic cooperation arrangement (Agreement name in Chinese: 中华人民共和国商务部与安哥拉共和国财政部关于两国经贸合作特殊安排的框架协议). Following the signing of the framework agreement, on 2 March, 2004, China Eximbank and the Government of Angola signed a $2 billion Master Loan Facility Agreement (MLFA). All of the subsidiary buyer’s credit loans approved through this MLFA carried the following terms: an interest rate of 3-month LIBOR (1.112% at the time that the MLFA was signed) plus a 1.5% margin- totaling 2.612%, a 22 year maturity period, and 5 year grace period (see linked Project ID#42029). According to the World Bank, this MLFA has a management commission fee of 0.3%, an installation commission fee of 1%; and an immobilization fee of 0.3% (See: Angola Public Expenditure Review (In Two Volumes) Volume II: Sectoral Review, p. 19).Sonangol provided a source of collateral for loans under the MLFA, and repayments were made with the proceeds of oil sales from Sonangol to UNIPEC (China international United Petroleum & Chemicals Co. Ltd, Sinopec group), which were deposited in an Angolan Ministry of Finance (MINFIN) account at China Eximbank (See: China’s Oil Diplomacy: Comparing Chinese Economic Statecraft in Angola and Brazil, p. 148). The volume of oil to be sold to UNIPEC each month for repayment of the loan varied according to market oil prices. Under the agreement, 70% of works have to be contracted with Chinese companies and the same proportion of construction material, equipment and labour has to be contracted in China (See: China’s Oil Diplomacy: Comparing Chinese Economic Statecraft in Angola and Brazil, p. 149).Then, in October 2005, China Eximbank and the Government of Angola signed a $36,963,000.00 subsidiary buyer’s credit loan agreement for the Palace of Justice Courthouse Construction Project (See: UNCOVERING AGENCY: ANGOLA’S MANAGEMENT OF RELATIONS WITH CHINA). The proceeds of this loan were used to partially finance a $41,070,000.00 commercial contract with Jiangsu Internacional (signed on 7 October, 2005) (See: UNCOVERING AGENCY: ANGOLA’S MANAGEMENT OF RELATIONS WITH CHINA).This project involved the construction of the Palace of Justice (Palácio da Justiça) in the capital city of Luanda. The building is 12 stories tall and has an annex that houses electromechanical equipment, including four generators and multiple fuel tanks and water tanks.The contract supporting the project was set to begin on 18 June, 2007; and the project had an estimated handover date of 18 December, 2008. The project was ultimately completed, according to Angola’s Ministry of Finance, but the precise start and completion dates are unknown.

Additional details

The Portuguese project title is Conclusão do Palácio da Justiça. The project is referred to as 国家司法大楼 in Chinese. In the database of Chinese loan commitments that SAIS-CARI released in July 2020, it identifies this loan as carrying a 17 year maturity length; however, AidData records a maturity length of 22 years based on interview evidence that Dr. Ana Cristina Alves collected from Angola’s Ministry of Finance (see Project ID#42029).The 2003 framework agreement (中华人民共和国商务部与安哥拉共和国财政部关于两国经贸合作特殊安排的框架协议) specified that Sinosure will be signing relevant agreements with the Government of Angola, although the nature of the agreements is unclear. AidData has coded Sinosure as an accountable agency and providing insurance to the loan facility.AidData considers this loan to be collateralized in a de facto sense. The cash deposited by the Angolan Ministry of Finance into a bank account controlled by China Eximbank is, for all intents and purposes, a source of collateral. This is true even if the lender does not have a formal security interest in the account.

Number of official sources

4

Number of unofficial sources

6