Announcement of Japan's Exim Bank Signs Untied Co-Financing Agreement to Support Argentina's Energy Sector on February 29, 1988

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 'vVorldBank 1818 H Street, NW., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. BANK NEWS RELEASE No. 88/S29 Contact: Ciro Gamarra (202) 676-1217 JAPAN'S EXIM BANK SIGNS UNTIED COFINANCING AGREEMENT TO SUPPORT ARGENTINA'S ENERGY SECTOR WASHINGTON, February 29, 1988 -- The Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of Japan signed a co-lenders' agreement with the World Bank today to support the energy sector program of Argentina. Under the agreement, the EXIM Bank will provide an untied loan of Y 67.7 billion ($373 million) to co-finance two previously approved World Bank loans to Argentina for $496 million. Makoto Sunagawa, Chief Representative of Japan's EXIM Bank and Shahid Husain, World Bank Regional Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean signed the co-lenders' agreement at the World Bank's headquarters in Washington, D.C .. The signing of the loan agreement between EXIM Bank and Argentina took place on February 22 in Tokyo. The EXIM Bank loan is linked to a $200 million loan approved by the World Bank in July 1981 (plus a supplementary loan of $116 million in May 1986) for a refinery conversion project; and to a $180 million World Bank loan June 1985 for a gas utilization and technical assistance project. The loans from the EXIM Bank and the World Bank will support the Argentine government's reform program in the energy sector. The program's major objectives are to improve the efficiency of two major oil refineries in Argentina and to support efforts to promote increased gas use in the country. The loans will also support measures designed to strengthen the planning and financial management of the country's largest state enterprise, Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales. The co-lenders agreement is the third collaboration between the World Bank and the EXIM Bank in Latin America under the newly initiated auspices of EXIM's untied facility. The previous cases were in Colombia and Mexico. The $373 million EXIM Bank loan brings the total conunitted under the untied facility to Latin American countries to almost $700 million. Similar arrangements are being discussed for projects in other Latin American countries, as well as additional support for Argentina, Colombia and Mexico. Procurement of goods and services under the EXIM Bank loan to Argentina is open to all member countries of the World Bank, which has agreed to supervise procurement. About $100 million of the EXIM Bank loan is expected to be disbursed as soon as the loan becomes effective. - 0 -