Exim Bank's loans rise 220%

Exim Bank's loans rise 220%

TOKYO (Nikkei): The Export-Import Bank of Japan extended a record Y699.2 billion in loans to Southeast Asian nations between January and June, up 220 percent from the same period a year ago, according to The Nihon Keizai Shimbun's Wednesday morning edition.

The government-affiliated bank attributed the jump mainly to trade financing it provided companies having liquidity problems in Thailand and Indonesia. Both countries are battling currency and economic crises.

The bank made 113 loans to Asian companies and organizations in the six months, double that of a year ago. In the April-June period alone, the Export-Import Bank extended a total of Y280 billion in lending to the region.

In the first half of 1998, the bank supplied a total of Y1.28 trillion in lending around the world, 60 percent-70 percent of which is estimated to have gone to Asia, including Southeast Asia and South Korea.

The institution will most likely make additional loans to the area, as it will take at least a few more years for Asian economies to recover from their current crises, the sources said.