Completed Mixed AidData Chinese Aid

China Eximbank provides RMB 38 million government concessional loan for Phase 2 of International Dateline Hotel Renovation Project (Linked to Record ID#37638, #37616, #42192)

¥38M RMB

Funder	Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank)
Recipient Organization	Government of the Kingdom of Tonga
Country	Tonga
Start Date	Apr 01, 2006
End Date	Mar 23, 2031
Duration	9,122 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`63641`

Grant Description

China Eximbank provides RMB 38 million government concessional loan for Phase 2 of International Dateline Hotel Renovation Project On March 30, 2001, the Chinese Government and the Government of Tonga signed a preferential loan framework that specified the terms of lending for the Phase 1 of the International Dateline Hotel Renovation Project.

Then, on June 11, 2001, the Export-Import Bank of China and the Government of Tonga signed a $4,230,118 (TOP 9,724,200) concessional loan agreement for Phase 1 of the International Dateline Hotel Renovation Project.

The loan agreement (captured in Record ID#37616) was signed by Zhao Wenzhang, Deputy Governor of China Eximbank, and Siosiua ‘Utoikamanu, Tonga’s Minister of Finance.

📋 Loan / Grant Terms

💰 Loan Amountwere as follows: a 2

📅 Maturity15.0833 years

⏳ Grace Period4.5833 years

💹 Interest Rate2.5%

Tonga’s Ministry of Finance on-lent the proceeds of the loan to Janfull International Dateline Hotel Ltd., a special purpose vehicle and joint venture of the Chinese Government and the Government of Tonga (see Staff Note 3). The on-lending agreement was signed on June 11, 2001.

The Government of Tonga also issued a sovereign guarantee in support of this loan to Janfull International Dateline Hotel Ltd.

As of June 30, 2006, the borrower had not made any principal repayments to the lender and the loan's amount outstanding was TOP 9,872,400.

As of June 30, 2007, the borrower had still not made any principal repayments to the lender and the loan’s outstanding amount was TOP 9,724,200.

The purpose of Phase 1 was to add a new, 54-room wing to the International Dateline Hotel (晋富国际日界限酒店) in the city of Nukuʻalofa and redevelop the waterfront area for for recreation and water sports activities. Tianjin Construction Engineering Group Corporation was the contractor responsible for implementation.

The construction was expected to last 12 months, and it began on around December 22, 2001. Construction ended on July 2, 2003.

Then, in April 2006, China Eximbank and the Government of Tonga signed an RMB 38 million (TOP 10,244,800) government concessional loan (GCL) agreement for Phase 2 of the International Dateline Hotel Renovation Project (captured in Record ID#63641).

📋 Loan / Grant Terms

💰 Loan Amountwere as follows: a 2

📅 Maturity12 years

⏳ Grace Period3 years

💹 Interest Rate2.5%

Tonga’s Ministry of Finance on-lent the proceeds of the loan to Janfull International Dateline Hotel Ltd.

The Government of Tonga issued a sovereign guarantee in support of this loan to Janfull International Dateline Hotel Ltd.

The loan's amount outstanding was TOP 9,604,500 as of June 30, 2008, TOP 9,095,775 as of June 30, 2009, TOP 7,600,543 as of June 30, 2010, TOP 5,860,211 as of June 30, 2011, TOP 5,049,386 as of June 30, 2012, TOP 4,225,125 as of June 30, 2013, TOP 2,073,986 as of June 30, 2015, TOP 677,079 as of June 30, 2016, and TOP 0 on June 30, 2017.

The borrower made a repayment worth at least TOP 640,300 between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2008, a repayment worth at least TOP 2,099,025 (TOP 2,099,025 in principal and an unknown amount of interest) between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009, a TOP 1,448,818 repayment (TOP 1,234,662 in principal and TOP 214,156 in interest) between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010, a TOP 1,360,620 repayment (TOP 1,249,509 in principal and TOP 111,111 in interest) between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2011, a TOP 1,231,589 repayment (TOP 1,103,359 in principal and TOP 128,230 in interest) between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012, a TOP 1,239,949 repayment (TOP 1,138,441 principal and TOP 101,598 in interest) between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013, an unknown repayment between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014, an unknown repayment between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015, a TOP 1,464,793 repayment (TOP 1,419,579 in principal and TOP 45,214 in interest) between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016, and a TOP 757,041 repayment (TOP 747,490 in principal and TOP 9,551 in interest) between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017.

The Chinese Government also provided a TOP 3 million grant to the Government of Tonga for Phase 2 (captured via Record ID#37638).

The purpose of Phase 2 was to construct the Fa’onelua Convention Center (whose main conference hall holds 400 people), 30 additional hotel rooms, office buildings, gyms, and bars.

China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) was the contractor responsible for the implementation of Phase 2. Construction began on July 3, 2006. The Fa’onelua Convention Center portion of the project was completed and handed over on January 11, 2007. The project as a whole was completed on September 20, 2007.

The renovation was completed in time for Tonga to host the 38th Pacific Islands Forum meeting from October 23-26, 2007.

📋 Staff Comments

This project is also known as Fa’onelua Convention Center Renovation Project and Phase 2 of the International Dateline Hotel Expansion and Upgrading Project. The Chinese project title is 汤加国际日界线酒店项目. The Tongan project title is Ngaue Fakalelei'I 'oe Hotele Dateline.
Neither of the China Eximbank loans that supported this project are included in the Overseas Development Finance Dataset that Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center published in December 2020.
In 2001, a joint venture called Janfull International Dateline Hotel Ltd. was established to manage the International Dateline Hotel in Tonga. It was jointly owned by Janfull Group (51% ownership stake) and International Dateline Hotel Ltd. (49% ownership stake). Janfull Group was owned by China’s Ministry of Commerce and International Dateline Hotel Ltd. was owned by the Government of Tonga. This joint venture is captured in Project ID#42192. In August 2010, the Government of Tonga announced its intent to dissolve the joint venture, citing differences with Janfull Group (a Chinese state-owned enterprise). At the time, the hotel was performing ‘well below international standards’, according to an ADB report. In June 2011, Tonga’s Minister of Public Enterprises successfully applied to have the joint venture placed into liquidation by a court. This move was designed to allow the Government of Tonga to regain control of the hotel—once it had proven its loan to the liquidator’s satisfaction—and then seek private investment or ownership to reestablish the hotel as a high-quality accommodation facility. The Government of Tonga purchased Janfull Group’s 51% ownership stake in Janfull International Dateline Hotel Ltd. after settling unpaid debts (worth $11 million) to China Eximbank. The Government of Tonga then asked the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to serve as a transaction advisor and structure, and competitively tender and award a project for the rehabilitation and operation of the International Dateline Hotel on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) basis. After longer-than-anticipated negotiations, a long-term management concession agreement was signed with an international hotel operator – Tanoa Group – who completely redeveloped the hotel. As of late 2016, the hotel reopened. There have been no further costs to the Government of Tonga since the concession agreement was signed; the hotel is now the largest in Tonga, and a high-quality (4.5 star) hotel. Occupancy rates were estimated at 39% in April 2017.
The concessional loan for Phase 1 was likely denominated in RMB. However, AidData has only managed to identify the USD equivalent of the face value of the loan. This issue requires further investigation.
China Foreign Construction Corporation, Guangsha Chongqing Construction (Group) Co., Ltd., China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), Jiangsu Construction Group Corp., Hunan Construction Engineering Group Corporation, China National Overseas Engineering Corporation, Qingdao Construction Group Corporation were all invited to tender, but CCECC won the contract for Phase 2.

📚 Sources & References

中汤合资汤加国际日界线酒店规划第二期扩建工程
PA 15-16 ENGLISH VERSION
Tonga seeks $60m loan from China to buy back assets
Tonga seeks Chinese loan to buy back electricity assets
The People’s Republic of China’s Aid Program in Oceania 2005-2009
CONVENTION CENTER OPENS AT TONGA’S DATELINE HOTEL
援汤国际会议厅建设项目顺利移交
商务部合作局工作小组赴汤考察我援外项目
汤加国际会议中心正式揭牌
汤加会议厅建设项目正式开工剪彩仪式
中国政府援建汤加国际会议厅项目换文确认
Notification No.4, 2006 of Foreign Assistance Project Bid Board of the Ministry of Commerce
The Designing Contract of Auditorium signed in Tonga
Tanoa
China's Overseas Development Finance
The New Owners of the Janfull International Dateline Hotel
CONVENTION CENTER OPENS AT TONGA’S DATELINE HOTEL
Tanoa International Dateline Hotel
Tonga Statistical Appendix
中华人民共和国驻汤加大使馆经济商务参赞处编辑上传视频
International Dateline Hotel, to build up the friendship between China and Tonga
CONSTRUCTION
EXPANSION OF TONGA’S INTERNATIONAL DATELINE HOTEL READY TO BEGIN
China EXIM Bank Signed Contract with the Kingdom of Tonga
CONTINUING REFORM TO PROMOTE GROWTH
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Email Print Go Back Historic Pacific Hotel to Receive a Facelift and Attract Tourist Dollars to Tonga
Tonga International Dateline Hotel PPP
IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION AND RESULTS REPORT
Tonga’s Record Budget Relies Heavily On Foreign Assistance
QUARTERLY DEBT BULLETIN as at 31 March 2014
Annual Public Debt Bulletin
Govt retains ownership of Dateline Hotel
Government of Tonga Budget Statement 2013-2014
Tonga: Joint IMF/World Bank Debt Sustainability Analysis 2011
TONGA GOVERNMENT WANTS FULL OWNERSHIP OF HOTEL
CHINESE ASSISTANCE IN THE PACIFIC: AGENCY
EFFECTIVENESS AND THE ROLE OF PACIFIC ISLAND GOVERNMENTS
TONGA-CHINA SIGNS T$9 MILLION LOAN AGREEMENT FOR DATELINE HOTEL UPGRADE
China in the Pacific: The New Banker in Town
Financial Statements For the year ended 30 June 2017
Financial Statements For the year ended 30 June 2013
Financial Statements for the year ended 30 June 2012
Financial Statements for the year ended 30 June 2011
Financial Statements for the year ended 30 June 2010
Financial Statements for the year ended 30 June 2009
Financial Statements For the year ended 30 June 2008
Financial Statements
Financial Statements For the year ended 30 June 2006, financial statements ending 2022
Chinese Aid in the Pacific 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.