China Development Bank extends $150 million line of credit to BICE to support SMEs in 2017

On May 17, 2017, China Development Bank (CDB) signed a financing agreement with Argentina's Banco de Inversión y Comercio Exterior (BICE), extending a $150 million line of credit to support BICE's efforts to on-lend to local borrowers for projects that promote agro-industrial exports from SMEs in Argentina and explore sustainable energy sources as well as the investment projects undertaken by Chinese companies established in Argentina. The loan has a 7 year maturity, a 2 year grace period, and an interest-rate of around 3%. As of December 31, 2018, BICE had drawn down the full $150 million from the line of credit. $50 million was drawn down on October 26, 2017, $42 million was drawn down on December 22, 2017, and $58 million was drawn down on July 5, 2018. The $150 million credit line agreement came after the completion of a previous agreement to provide a $140 million line of credit over the course of 5 years (as captured via Project ID#54558, #54559, #54560). According to CDB, the purpose of the $150 million line of credit was to help SMEs in the field of renewable energy, energy infrastructure and agricultural manufacturing.

Additional details

1. This credit line may have been initially pledged in a Memorandum of Cooperation signed on July 13, 2010 (see Project ID#69339). This issue warrants further investigation. 2. The CRS Sector field has been coded as 'Other Multisector' because the $150 million credit line was intended to support SMEs in both the Energy and Industry sectors. 3. Banco de Inversión y Comercio Exterior SA (BICE) is a state-owned bank in Argentina.

Number of official sources

8

Number of total sources

10