China provides a 30 Million RMB Interest-free loan to Trinidad and Tobago for use in Small Business

Project narrative

China provided a RMB 30 million interest-free loan in 2003, committed in 2002, to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to support the business sector. This loan was, among other things, used by the Small Business Leasing Company in a $7 million Trinidadian Dollar draw down to acquire equipment and machinery for leasing to small businesses. The loan represented 0.5% of Trinidad and Tobago's debt in 2002. The main sub-sectors which benefited from these leasing activities were seafood processing, health services, aluminum products manufacturing, and printing and packaging. The loan was fully disbursed. The loan followed a July 2002 Memorandum of Understanding on the Mutual Promotion and Protection of Investment between Trinidad and Tobago and China. The original framework for the loan was laid down in 1997. According to the Estimates of Recurrent Expenditure, this loan was fully repaid by 2018.