CDB provides loan for Phase 1 of the Nouadhibou Fishing Port Project (Linked to Project ID#97754 and #97756)

On June 7, 2010, Hongdong Fishery Co., Ltd. (福建省福州宏东渔业股份有限公 or 宏东渔业) — a subsidiary of China Poly Group Corporation Ltd (a Chinese state-owned military enterprise) — signed a long-term fishery cooperation agreement with the Mauritanian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Development, which granted the Chinese company an extraordinary set of maritime and land concessions (including tax and customs exemptions, permission to occupy an area of 60,000 square meters within a few hundred meters from the quay of the Autonomous Port of Nouadhibou, and the right to fish nearly 100 species of fish in a special economic zone). Then, in June 2011, Phase 1 of the Nouadhibou Fishing Port Project (involving the construction of a wharf and a fishmeal and fish oil factory in Nouadhibou) commenced. Hongdong International (Mauritania) Fishery Development Co., Ltd. — a special purpose vehicle and wholly owned subsidiary of Hongdong Fishery Co., Ltd. — subsequently received a China Development Bank (CDB) loan worth approximately $25.2 million USD for Phase 1. The loan was backed by a Sinosure credit insurance policy. Phase 1 had a cost of $36 million USD. Project ID#97748 captures this loan. Then, in October 2016, China Eximbank issued an RMB 400 million loan to Hongdong International (Mauritania) Fishery Development Co., Ltd. for Phase 2 of the Nouadhibou Fishing Port Project. The borrowing terms of the 2016 China Eximbank loan are unknown. However, it is known that the borrower purchased a Sinosure credit insurance policy. Project ID#97754 captures this loan. Phase 2 was reportedly completed, but its precise implementation start and end dates are unknown. Then, in 2018, China Eximbank issued an RMB 400 million loan to Hongdong International (Mauritania) Fishery Development Co., Ltd. for Phase 3 of the Nouadhibou Fishing Port Project. The borrowing terms of the 2018 China Eximbank loan are unknown. However, it is known that the borrower purchased a Sinosure credit insurance policy. Project ID#97756 captures this loan. Phase 3 was completed on March 4, 2021.

Additional details

1. The Chinese project title is 宏东渔业毛里塔尼亚境外渔业基地项目 or 毛里塔尼亚境外渔业基地项目 or 毛里塔尼亚的渔业基地项目. 2. The June 2010 fishery cooperation agreement can be accessed in its entirety via http://www.fiti-mauritanie.mr/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/CONVENTION-HONDONG.pdf. 3. Hongdong Fishery Co., Ltd. is also known as La société chinoise Poly Hondone Pelagic Fishery Co. Ltd. 4. The precise face value of the CDB loan is unknown. However, it is known that the total cost of Phase 1 of the Nouadhibou Fishing Port Project was $36 million. For the time being, AidData assumes that Phase 1 was financed according to a 70:30 debt-to-equity ratio, which implies a CDB loan commitment of $25.2 million.

Number of official sources

11

Number of total sources

29