China Eximbank provides RMB 1.05 billion government concessional loan for Ministry of Finance Information and Communications Technology Modernization Project

In the first quarter of 2020, China Eximbank and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo signed an RMB 1,050,000,000 government concessional loan (GCL) agreement for the Ministry of Finance ICT Modernization Project. The borrowing terms of the GCL are as follows: a 20-year maturity, a 5-year grace period, a 2% interest rate, and a 0.25% commitment fee. However, it is known that the borrower was expected to use the GCL proceeds to finance a commercial contract with Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. worth approximately $150 million that was signed in 2014. The purpose of the project is to modernize the computer systems of three state financial authorities: the General Directorate of Taxes (DGI), the General Directorate of Customs and Excise (DGDA) and the General Directorate of Administrative, Judicial, State and Shareholding Revenue (DGRAD). Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. is the contractor responsible for implementation. As of August 2020, the China Eximbank loan for the project had not yet been disbursed.

Additional details

1. The World Bank’s Debtor Reporting System (DRS) records the loan commitment value for the Ministry of Finance ICT Modernization Project as $171,438,376.10. 2. The commercial contract with Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. was on hold from 2014 to 2019 due to concerns about government debt limits.

Number of official sources

4

Number of total sources

23