China Eximbank provides loan for Baan Eua Arthon (BEA) Housing Program

According to a press release from China Eximbank, it financed the contract(s) that Ningbo Huafeng Construction Company and Zhejiang Zhongda Construction Company had for the Baan Eua Arthon (BEA) Housing Program in 2008 or 2009. The face value and borrowing terms of the loan are unknown. The proceeds of the loan were to be used to finance the Baan Eua Arthon (BEA) Housing Program, which was a low-income housing initiative launched by the Government of Thailand’s National Housing Authority to provide affordable housing to families with a monthly income of less than 17,500 baht. The project commenced in 2003, and about 600,000 units were built in just 5 years. By 2007, 11,727 houses were constructed.

Additional details

This project is also known as the Renai House Construction Project, the Benevolence House Project and the Low-Income Housing Project. The Chinese project title is 仁爱屋”建设工程. In 2007, Wang Yinfei, the head of China State Construction Engineering, told reporters that China State Construction signed a contract with the Thai government to build 30,000 sets of ‘Benevolence Houses’. At the time, it was expected that 15,000 units would be delivered by the end of 2008. The Thai government announced that this phase of the Renai House project consisted of 230,000 housing units, of which 30,000 units were already under construction and development by China State Construction. Also, according to the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China and Sina, in 2006, Beijing Urban International Co., Ltd. signed a contract for Thailand's ‘Love House’ project. However, it is unclear if China Eximbank financed these activities. This issue merits further investigation. In 2005, Ningbo Huafeng Construction Company signed a contract with the Thai government for the construction of 6,258 Renai House units (source: 华丰建设股份有限公司). However, it is unclear if the proceeds of the China Eximbank loan that was issued in 2008 (or 2009) were used to finance this commercial contract. This issue merits further investigation.

Number of official sources

3

Number of total sources

8