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Overview

[China-Venezuela Joint Fund] Renovation and support of Corpoelec (Linked to Record ID#58677)

Commitment Year2009Country of ActivityVenezuelaDirect Recipient Country of IncorporationVenezuelaSectorEnergyFlow TypeLoan

Status

Project lifecycle

Pipeline: Commitment

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Aug 16, 2009

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

  • China Development Bank (CDB)

Receiving agencies

State-owned companies

  • CORPOELEC

Implementing agencies

State-owned Banks

  • Banco de Desarrollo Económico y Social de Venezuela (BANDES)

State-owned Funds

  • China-Venezuela Joint Fund

Collateral providers

State-owned companies

  • Pétroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA)

Loan desecription

[China-Venezuela Joint Fund] Renovation and support of Corpoelec

Interest typeUnknown

Collateral

The borrowing was collateralized with PDVSA income from daily oil sales (in quantities not less than 230,000 barrels per day) to China National United Oil Corporation (ChinaOil), which was deposited in a collection (escrow) account at China Development Bank (CDB). Banco de Desarrollo Económico y Social de Venezuela (BANDES) opened and maintained a USD-denominated collection (escrow) account with CDB into which all proceeds from oil export sales -- under an offtake agreement (petroleum sales and purchase contract) between PDVSA and ChinaOil -- were deposited for the purposes of (a) making regular debt service payments to CDB, and (b) maintaining a minimum cash collateral balance. The borrower was required to maintain a minimum cash balance in the collection (escrow) account equivalent to no less than 1.3 times the aggregate amount of principal, interest, and any other amount due during the next repayment period. If the minimum cash balance was not maintained, then PDVSA would be responsible for increasing the amount of fuel and/or crude oil to be delivered under the petroleum sales and purchase contract to ensure that (a) the actual debt service coverage ratio was maintained at the required level at the required times; and (b) the amount in the New Collection Account was sufficient to meet the required balance requirements set out in the facility agreement. If PDVSA did not do so, then BANDES was responsible for transferring funds to the CDB-controlled bank account to 'remedy any shortfall.' The lender also had the ability to block the debtor from withdrawing the funds.

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

On August 16, 2009, after requesting 1.15 billion USD from the Venezuelan government, President Hugo Chavez approved a 1 billion USD donation from the Venezuelan government to Corpoelec, of which 500 million USD came from the China-Venezuela Fund. The other half of the donation came from FONDEN, or the Venezuelan National Development Fund. This investment was intended for Corpoelec’s investment and renovation. However, Chavez approved another 279 million to offset Corpoelec's deficit problems [#37525]. The total transaction amount is $500 million but not sure how much comes from China. The China-Venezuela Joint Fund receives contributions from China Development Bank and FONDEN, and it is administered by BANDES. See Record ID#58677 for more information on the fund.

Staff comments

From Chinese sources, China-Venezuela Joint Fund provides 1 billion USD to Venezuelan electricity system. Because this project was supported, at least in part, by the China-Venezuela Joint Fund/Fondo Estrategico Pesado (See #35985, #37528, #37838, #38163, 38316, and #38380), this project is marked as a resource-backed or commodity-backed loan.