Completed Development AidData Chinese Aid

China Eximbank provides RMB 165 million government concessional loan for E-Government Project (Linked to Record ID#95365, 95363)

¥165M RMB

Funder	Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank)
Recipient Organization	Fiji Ministry of Economy
Country	Fiji
Start Date	Apr 04, 2006
End Date	Dec 13, 2030
Duration	9,019 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`62576`

Grant Description

China Eximbank provides RMB 165 million government concessional loan for E-Government Project In May 2004, China’s Ministry of Information Industry and Fiji’s Ministry of Information Communication and Media Relations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish ICT cooperation between China and Fiji.

The MOU specified that the Chinese Government would provide a loan to finance an E-Government Project in order to improve economic development by providing Fiji government services online to businesses, citizens, and government employees.

Then, on April 4, 2006, China Eximbank and the Government of Fiji’s Ministry of Economy signed an RMB 165,000,000 government concessional loan (GCL) agreement for the E-Government Project.

📋 Loan / Grant Terms

📅 Maturity20 years

⏳ Grace Period5 years

💹 Interest Rate2%

The proceeds of the loan were to be used by the borrower to finance a commercial contract with Alcatel Shanghai Bell. The loan had fully disbursed by December 2010. Its (principal) amount outstanding was RMB 37,258,064.40 (FJD 11,620,267.72) as of June 30, 2023.

The borrower made principal payments worth RMB 10,645,161.30 (FJD 3,458,757.19) and interest payments worth RMB 985,567.42 (FJD 298,188.94) between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023.

The purpose of the project was to (a) build Government Information Infrastructure (GOVNET), and (b) deploy government services online through an E-Government portal. Alcatel Shanghai Bell was the contractor responsible for implementation. The project officially commenced on July 17, 2008 and it was completed on April 15, 2011.

One of the project’s principal accomplishments was the development of GOVNET, linking most government agencies in the capital city of Suva as well as some government agencies in other locations.

The network consists of a fiber optic backbone in Suva and wireless technology connects it to other parts of the country. GOVNET allows the government's 36,000 civil servants to exchange information electronically.

In addition, the implementation of the E-Government project reportedly resulted in the creation of a state-of-the-art data center.

There are some indications that the China Eximbank loan for the E-Government Project may have financially underperformed vis-a-vis the original expectations of the lender.

In 2020, China Eximbank and the Government of Fiji signed a debt suspension agreement as part of the G-20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI).

Under the terms of the agreement, the lender agreed to suspend principal and interest payments due between May 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020 under multiple government concessional loan (GCL) agreements (as captured via Record ID#95365).

Debt service payments under all or many of these loan agreements were again deferred in 2021 (as captured via Record ID#95363).

📋 Staff Comments

This project is also known as the Government Network Project. The Chinese project title is 斐济电子政务项目 or 斐电子政务项目 or 斐济政府数据中心.
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.  3. AidData relies on the face value of the loan (RMB 165,000,000) that Fiji’s Ministry of Economy reported to AidData’s Executive Director in April 2018 correspondence. See https://www.dropbox.com/s/uu8muq0ldgd8kjp/FW-%20Request%20for%20List%20of%20Loans%20from%20Chinese%20Government%20Institutions.eml?dl=04. 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=05. This loan participated in DSSI with China. AidData acquired the number of loans that were rescheduled in 2020 and 2021 from Fiji's ministry of finance website. All loans participated in both DSSI 2020 and 2021.

📚 Sources & References

Fiji Budget Estimates 2012
斐济首个使用我政府优惠贷款的项目建成启用
The Dragon Looks South
Assessment of the Potential Impact of the ICT Revolution in the Pacific on Economic Growth
Employment, and Government Revenue
Chinese Ambassador to Fiji Cai Jinyu attended the opening ceremony of the 'Fiji E-Government Project' portal
ICT Impacts in the South Pacific
Budget Estimates 2016-2017, eGovernment Background
Budget Estimates 2019-2020
Government of Fiji Islands Annual Financial Statement
REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE FIJI ISLANDS VOLUME 1 AUDIT REPORT ON THE WHOLE OF GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL APPROPRIATION STATEMENT- 2007
上海贝尔成功实施斐济电子政务一期项目
Request for List of Loans from Chinese Government Institutions.eml
China's Overseas Development Finance
Data on data disbursements, repayments and amounts outstanding under China Eximbank loans
ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT 2007
ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT 2008
ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT 2009
ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT 2010
Annual Financial Statement 2011 Report
Annual Financial Statement 2012 Report
Annual Financial Statement 2013 Report
Annual Financial Statement 2014 Report
Annual Financial Statement 2015 Report
Audit Report on Whole of Government Financial Statements and Annual Appropriation Statements 2016
REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL OF THE REPUBLIC OF FIJI 2016-2017 Financial Statements of Government & 2016-2017 Agency Financial Statement of Ministry of Economy
REPORT OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL OF THE REPUBLIC OF FIJI 2017-2018 Financial Statements of Government & 2017-2018 Agency Financial Statements of Ministry of Economy
REPORT OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL OF THE REPUBLIC OF FIJI 2018-2019 Financial Statements of Government 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.

All Grantees

Fiji Ministry of Economy

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