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

Project narrative

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 the Government of Burundi 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. The Government of Burundi on-lent the proceeds of the loan to Société de Télédiffusion Numérique au Burundi (STNB). The loan's principal amount outstanding was RMB 219,724,000 as of 2022. STNB — or Burundi Digital Television Corporation — is a joint venture 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 is expected to be used to repay the China Eximbank loan. In August 2023, StarTimes Group and the Government of Burundi renegotiated the ownership in STNB, resulting in Burundi's equity stake increasing to 45% and StarTimes's stake decreasing to 55%. The Council of Ministers recommended that the contract be reviewed every 5 years. This project entered implementation on December 19, 2016, and it was completed on May 12, 2020. The official launch of STNB took place on June 15, 2024.