Japan continues boosting yen loans
Japan continues boosting yen loans
TOKYO (Reuter): Japan's economic problems have not stopped it
boosting yen loans to Asia and the rest of the world, official
statistics released yesterday showed.
Japan's yen loan commitments for the last fiscal year to March
31 rose 23.9 percent on the previous year to 1.09 trillion yen
(US$10.4 billion), while actual payments totaled 654.5 billion
yen ($6.29 billion), up 4.9 percent.
The figures were contained in the annual report of The
Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund of Japan and showed Asia
remained the biggest beneficiary of yen loans at 881.8 billion
yen ($8.47 billion) on a commitment basis, up 11 percent on the
previous year.
But Asia's overall share dropped to 80.7 percent from last
year's 90.0 percent as Japan raised its commitments to regions
such as Central and South America, the Middle East and Africa.
Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan joined the list of recipients and
Tokyo resumed yen loans to Bulgaria for the first time in 20
years, the report said.
Most of the loans were for the improvement of economic
infrastructure in developing countries, especially in the area of
transportation, the report said.
Yen loans for environmental projects also rose to a record
218.6 billion yen, or 20.8 percent of the total committed.
Japan reduced the average interest rate on yen loans committed
in fiscal 1995 by 0.21 percentage points to 2.53 percent for
commitments made last year, in line with a cut in Japanese
interest rates, the report said.
Yen loan recipients had repeatedly called upon Japan to ease
its repayment conditions in the light of the yen's surge against
the dollar last year, it said.
The report said all yen loans committed in 1995/96 were untied
-- that is they do not require the recipient to give contracts to
Japanese companies for the projects financed.
Yen loans have often been criticized as steps by Japan to
create new business for Japanese firms.
The report said 27 percent of the total value of all contracts
on yen-loan financed projects went to Japanese firms last year
and 60 percent to firms from developing countries.
Industrialized countries, excluding Japan, took 13 percent of
the total, it said.