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Overview

China Eximbank provides RMB 567 million government concessional loan for Telecommunications Network Modernization Project (Linked to Record ID#53292)

Commitments (Constant USD, 2023)$86,268,928
Commitment Year•2018Country of Activity•ComorosDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•ComorosSector•CommunicationsFlow Type•Loan

Status

Project lifecycle

Implementation

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Dec 11, 2018
Start (actual)
Mar 22, 2022
First repayment (originally scheduled)
Dec 10, 2023
Last repayment (originally scheduled)
Dec 3, 2048

Stakeholders

Organizations involved in projects and activities supported by financial and in-kind transfers from Chinese government and state-owned entities

Ultimate beneficial owners

At least 25% host country ownership

Funding agencies

State-owned Policy Banks

  • Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank)

Receiving agencies

Government Agencies

  • Government of Comoros

State-owned companies

  • Comoros Télécom

Implementing agencies

Private Sector

  • Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

State-owned companies

  • Comoros Télécom

Guarantors

Government Agencies

  • Government of Comoros

Loan description

China Eximbank provides RMB 567 million government concessional loan for Telecommunications Network Modernization Project

Grace period•5 yearsGrant element•68.3408%Interest rate (t₀)•1%Interest type•Fixed Interest RateMaturity•30 years

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

On December 11, 2018, China Eximbank and the Government of Comoros signed an RMB 567,000,000 ($85,826,411.40) government concessional loan (GCL) agreement for the Telecommunications Network Modernization Project. The GCL carries the following borrowing terms: a 30-year maturity, a 5-year grace period, and a 1% interest rate. The Government of Comoros on-lent the proceeds of the loan (GCL) to La Société Comorienne de Télécommunication (Comores Télécom), which is a state-owned telecommunication operator in Comoros. Comores Télécom is expected to use the proceeds of the loan to finance an $81 million commercial contract that it signed with Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. in 2017. The purpose of the project is to renovate and modernize the infrastructure Comores Télécom and expand the ‘Huri network’ and cover the entire country. More specifically, it involves the extension of a fiber to the home (FTTH) network to 57 additional sites. The project also seeks to build upon the achievements of the China Eximbank-financed National Fiber Optic Backbone Transmission Network Project (captured via Record ID#53292). Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. is the contractor responsible for project implementation. On March 22, 2022, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and Comores Télécom officially launched the Nafassi FTTH to provide household access to to high-speed Internet, television and landline telephone services (via submarine cables).

Staff comments

1. This project is also known as the Network Modernization Project, Phase 2 of the National Fiber Optic Backbone Transmission Network Project, and the Fixed-Mobile Convergence (FMC) Project. The French project title is Phase 2 of Projet Cable Optique or Le Projet Eassy de câble marin à fibre optique. The Chinese project title is 援科摩罗固定移动融合网络现代化项目 and FMC项目. 2. The World Bank’s Debtor Reporting System (DRS) identifies the face value of the loan as $85,826,411.40. 3. It is possible that the GCL was first issued to the Government of Comoros, which in turn on-lent the proceeds of the loan to Comores Télécom. This issue warrants further investigation. 4. In the database of Chinese loan commitments that SAIS-CARI released in 2020 and re-released in 2021, the borrowing terms of this loan are not identified. AidData relies on the borrowing terms of the loan that are recorded by IMF Country Report No. 19/272.