China Eximbank provides $170 million buyer’s credit loan for Malabo International Airport Expansion Project (Linked to Record ID#484)

Project narrative

On November 16, 2006, China Eximbank and the Government of Equatorial Guinea signed a $2 billion buyer’s credit facility agreement (互惠贷款) for various infrastructure projects. All subsidiary loans approved under this buyer’s credit facility agreement carry the following terms: a 5.5% interest rate, a 5 year maturity, a 2 year grace period, a 0.375% commitment fee, and a 0.5% risk guarantee (garantia del riesgo) cost. The subsidiary buyer's credit loans under the $2 billion facility were secured with (i.e. collateralized against) minimum cash balances in an escrow account opened by Government of Equatorial Guinea in China Eximbank. Under the original terms of an Account Settlement and Financing Agreement (Convenio de Liquidacion de cuentas y Financiamiento) that the parties signed on February 17, 2006, the minimum cash balance requirement was reportedly equivalent to 30 percent of the Government of Equatorial Guinea's outstanding stock of debt to China Eximbank. After the Account Settlement and Financing Agreement was amended on March 26, 2010, the borrower was expected -- at any given point in time -- to maintain a minimum cash balance in the escrow account (also known as 赤道几内亚共和国财务预算部) equivalent to the value of its next set of semi-annual principal, interest, and fee payment obligations to the lender. The borrower was also expected to deposit the cash proceeds from its oil export sales (crude oil sales revenue) to China into a payment reserve account (also known as 还款准备金 or 赤道几内亚共和国财务预算部还款准备金). More specifically, the borrower was expected to deposit the cash proceeds from six oil cargoes into the payment reserve account. In 2015, China Eximbank and the Government of Equatorial Guinea signed a subsidiary buyer’s credit loan agreement worth an estimated $170 million for the Malabo International Airport Expansion Project. The proceeds of the loan were used by the borrower to finance a $200 million commercial contract with Weihai International Economic & Technical Cooperative Co. Ltd., which was signed in January 2014. The project involved the construction of a new terminal in a 41,000 square meter area, a parking lot in a 14,000 square meter area, and a viaduct in a 15,000 square meter area at Malabo International Airport (also known as Aeropuerto de Santa Isabel). Weihai International Economic & Technical Cooperative Co. Ltd. was the EPC contractor responsible for implementation. The project officially commenced on April 20, 2015. It was inspected in October 2017 by Equatorial Guinean President Obiang, Equatorial Guinea's Minister of Civil Aviation of Chichi, the Vice Chairman of the National Project Office, the General Manager of the National Airlines of Equatorial Guinea, Ambassador Chen Guoyou, Counsellor Su Jianguo and the head of Weihai International. Then, in August 2018, the Vice-President of the Government of Equatorial Guinea, Charged with Defence and State Security, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, inspected the project. He was accompanied by the Civil Aviation Head of Department and chiefs from Geproyectos. The project was completed in February 2018.