China Eximbank provides $32.6 million loan for Digital Television Migration Project (Linked to Project ID#56831, #57618, and #62521)

On April 9, 2014, the Government of Burundi signed a commercial contract with Chinese company Star Times Software Technology Company Limited Group for the construction of a digital television network. Then, on June 1, 2017, China Eximbank and Société de Télédiffusion Numérique au Burundi” (STNB) signed a $32.6 million government concessional loan (GCL) agreement [CHINA EXIMBANK GCL 2016 No. (33)TOTAL NO. (603)] for the Digital Television Migration Project. The GCL was ratified by Burundi’s legislature on August 14, 2017. The borrowing terms of the loan were as follows: a 2% interest rate, a 5-year grace period, a 20-year maturity, a 0.5% commitment fee, and a 0.2% management fee. STNB — or Burundi Digital Television Corporation — is a joint venture (see Project ID#62521) of Star Times Group (60% equity stake) and the Government of Burundi represented by Radio Television Nationale du Burundi (40% equity stake). STNB is responsible for constructing the digital television network and managing it for 25 years, after which point the network will become a public asset. The revenue generated by STNB will reportedly be used to repay the China Eximbank loan. This project entered implementation on December 19, 2016, and it was completed on May 12, 2020.

Additional details

1. This project is also known as the Migration to Digital Television Broadcasting Project. The Chinese project title is 建的布隆迪广播电视数字化整转项目 or 布隆迪实施的数字化电视整转项目. The French project title is projet de migration vers la radiodiffusion télévisuelle numérique au Burundi. 2. SAIS-CARI records the face value of the loan as $13 million and the interest rate as 2.5%. However, AidData relies on the face value ($32.6 million) and interest rate (2%) reported by the Government of Burundi and Xinhua News Agency.

Number of official sources

9

Number of total sources

15