Active Mixed AidData Chinese Aid

China Eximbank provides $30 million seller's credit to Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd. for Phase 1 of Lao Telecom Network Project (Linked to Record ID#64091, #64093)

$30M USD

Funder	Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank)
Recipient Organization	Nokia Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd. (formerly known as Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd.)
Country	Lao People's Democratic Republic
Start Date	Feb 01, 2001
End Date	Sep 11, 2032
Duration	11,545 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`47015`

Grant Description

China Eximbank provides $30 million seller's credit to Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd. for Phase 1 of Lao Telecom Network Project In February 2001, China Eximbank issued a $30 million seller's credit loan to Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd., who provided it as a supplier's credit to the Government of Laos to finance Phase 1 of the Lao Telecom Network Project.

The Government of Laos issued a sovereign guarantee in support of the loan.

The proceeds of the loan were to be used by the borrower to finance the $34 million commercial (EPC) contract with Alcatel Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd., which was signed on November 17, 2000.

📋 Loan / Grant Terms

💰 Loan Amountare unknown

The purpose of the project was to upgrade the mobile and fixed telephone network of the government-owned Lao Telecommunications Public Company (Lao Telecom or LTC). Alcatel Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd. was the EPC contractor responsible for implementation. As of 2005, the project was nearly complete.

China Eximbank also financed Phase 2 of the Lao Telecom Project (captured in Record ID#64091) and Phase 3 of the Lao Telecom Project (captured in Record ID#64093).

📋 Staff Comments

The Chinese project title is 老挝电信网一期扩容工程 or 上海贝尔公司老挝全国电信网络改造项目 or 上海贝尔公司老挝电信网一期扩容工程 or 老挝全国电信网络改造项目.
The China Eximbank loan that supported this project is not included in the Overseas Development Finance Dataset that Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center published in December 2020.
It is unclear if the loan that was issued was a buyer’s credit loan or a supplier’s credit from Alcatel Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd. (backed by an export seller’s credit from China Eximbank). This issue merits further investigation.
LTC became a Lao-Thai joint venture in 1996, with the Lao Government holding a 51% ownership stake and Thaicom holding a 49% ownership stake.

📚 Sources & References

Lao People's Democratic Republic; 2001 Article IV Consultation and Request
上海贝尔获老挝电信网改造大单
Ministry To Increase CCTV Camera Coverage In City
上海贝尔赢得老挝GSM网合同
上海貝爾承建緬甸國家通信網工程
China's Overseas Development Finance
中资公司参与工程承包简介
老挝工程承包市场浅析（二）, 2002 IMF Laos Report Loan applications and disbursements are still being received and processed as the projects continue to evolve. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation are in place to ensure project continuity.