China Eximbank suspends debt service payments from Government of Fiji between January and December 2021 (Linked to Project ID#95365, 62721, 62576, 62719, 49134, 40003, and 64738)

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting that took place on April 15, 2020 and on November 13, 2020, the Chinese Government agreed to work with other G20 members to implement the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI). Then, as part of the DSSI, China Eximbank and the Government of Fiji signed a debt suspension agreement ('EXIM China Debt Service Suspension Initiative II') on May 13, 2021. Under the terms of the agreement, the lender agreed to suspend principal and interest payments due between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021 under six government concessional loan agreements for the E-Government Project, the Low Cost Housing Project, the Fiji Public Rental Housing Project, the Buca Bay Moto Road Project, the Sigatoka Sawani Road Project, and the Nabouwalu Dreketi Road Project (captured via Project ID#62721, 62576, 62719, 49134, 40003, and 64738). Then, on April 11, 2022, China Eximbank and the Government of Fiji signed another debt suspension agreement ('EXIM China Debt Service Suspension Initiative III'). Under the terms of the agreement, the lender agreed to suspend principal and interest payments due between July 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021 under the same six government concessional loan agreements for the E-Government Project, the Low Cost Housing Project, the Fiji Public Rental Housing Project, the Buca Bay Moto Road Project, the Sigatoka Sawani Road Project, and the Nabouwalu Dreketi Road Project. The total (combined) value of the 'EXIM China Debt Service Suspension Initiative II' suspension amount and the 'EXIM China Debt Service Suspension Initiative III' suspension amount was RMB 143.8 million ($45.2 million). Under the terms of the 'EXIM China Debt Service Suspension Initiative II' debt suspension agreement, the lender and the borrower agreed that the repayment of the suspension amount for each loan agreement would take place during a 5.25-year repayment period after a 0.5-year grace period (starting from and including the repayment date/repayment date of principal and interest falling within the suspension period). Under the terms of the 'EXIM China Debt Service Suspension Initiative III' debt suspension agreement, the lender and the borrower agreed that the repayment of the suspension amount for each loan agreement would take place during a 5.25-year repayment period and without a grace period. The final repayment date for the 'EXIM China Debt Service Suspension Initiative II' suspension amount and the 'EXIM China Debt Service Suspension Initiative III' suspension amount was identified as March 21, 2027. At the time that the parties signed each debt suspension agreement, they both acknowledged that the total suspension amount would ultimately be determined at the end of the suspension period (since loan disbursements could be made during the suspension period and the lender agreed to suspend the payment of interest accrued on any disbursements during the suspension period). The lender and borrower agreed that the suspension of debt service would be undertaken on a net present value (NPV)-neutral basis. Therefore, the borrower agreed to pay interest accrued on the amount outstanding under the total suspension amount (‘Suspension Interest’) by paying the Suspension Interest on the amount outstanding under each loan agreement’s suspension amount at the same rate of interest set forth in the original loan agreement. Under the terms of the debt suspension agreement, the lender and the borrower also agreed that "[t]he suspension interest on the amount outstanding under the Suspension Amount concerning each Loan Agreement shall be calculated on the basis of the actual number of days elapsed and a year of 360 days, from and including the Repayment Date/Repayment Date of Principal and Interest falling within the Suspension Period to the date of payment in full of the corresponding Suspension Amount, and shall be paid in arrears on each Interest Payment Date under the corresponding Loan Agreement." The borrower also agreed that: (1) "it shall continue to perform all its obligations […] under the Loan Agreements as supplemented and amended by [the debt suspension agreement]"; (2) "it shall use the created fiscal space to increase social, health, or economic spending in response to the COVID-19 crisis […]" and "work closely with the International Financial Institutions who are expected to put in place a monitoring system"; (3) "it shall disclose to the Lender all Public Sector Financial Commitments (as defined in the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014 (GFSM2014)), respecting commercially sensitive information"; and (4) "it shall contract no new non-concessional debt during the Suspension Period, other than agreements under the DSSI." The borrower began making principal and interest payments on the 'EXIM China Debt Service Suspension Initiative II' suspension amount in 2022 and 2023. The suspension amount outstanding was RMB 57,392,966.29 (FJD 17,900,061.22) as of June 30, 2023. The borrower made principal payments worth RMB 14,513,913.54 (FJD 4,715,773.08) and interest payments worth RMB 1,385,139.27 (FJD 450,005.23) between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023. The borrower began making principal and interest payments on the 'EXIM China Debt Service Suspension Initiative III' suspension amount in 2022 and 2023. The suspension amount outstanding was RMB 64,220,042.96 (FJD 20,029,330.68) as of June 30, 2023. The borrower made principal payments worth RMB 7,300,034.66 (FJD 2,375,772.01) and interest payments worth RMB 1,450,268.24 (FJD 471,205.45) between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023.

Additional details

1. AidData assumes that the same basic terms and conditions that governed China Eximbank’s DSSI (debt suspension) agreement with other governments also applied to its DSSI agreement that it signed with the Government of Fiji. Illustrative DSSI agreements can be accessed via https://www.dropbox.com/s/huwa695j3w9hwig/DSSI%20Agreement%20for%20Kyrgyz%20Republic.pdf?dl=0, https://www.dropbox.com/s/67n1oq44it27kvu/3.%20Debt%20Suspension%20Agreement%20for%20GCL%20Other%20Projects.pdf?dl=0, and https://www.dropbox.com/s/n69i598f0fg7s80/6.%20Debt%20Suspension%20Agreement%20for%20PBC%20C2.pdf?dl=0. 2. The total estimated suspension amount is based on reporting from the Government of Fiji (via https://www.economy.gov.fj/images/Treasury/uploads/Debt/Debt_Report_-_Q3_2021_FINAL_PSE_Approved.pdf). It is not based on the size of the debt service deferral — $22,241,000 ($18,271,000 in principal payments and $3,970,000 in interest payments) — that the Government of Fiji secured from the Chinese Government in 2021 (as recorded by the World Bank's Debtor Reporting System on December 6, 2022). The discrepancy between these two figures merits further investigation. 3. The data on amounts outstanding and repayments were provided by Fiji's Ministry of Finance to AidData's Executive Director in June 2023. See https://www.dropbox.com/s/jqsnza05ar9r8x3/Data%20on%20data%20on%20disbursements%2C%20repayments%20and%20amounts%20outstanding%20under%20China%20Eximbank%20loans.pdf?dl=0 4. The 'EXIM China Debt Service Suspension Initiative I' debt suspension agreement is captured via Project ID#95365.

Number of official sources

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Number of total sources

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