New NIB loans in Vietnam

NIB has established its first loan programme for small and medium-sized companies in Vietnam.

NIB signed a loan agreement with the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance on 14 April 2004 in Hanoi. The loan programme, which attracted considerable interest in the local press, amounts to USD 20 million. The programme will be channelled through the intermediary Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam BIDV (Vietindebank). According to Bengt Farneman, NIB’s Deputy Regional Manager for Region Asia, the funds will be allocated to projects with a Nordic content in the SME sector.

In the middle of April NIB also signed an agreement on supplementary financing totalling USD 10 million for the Tam Diep Cement Factory, presently under construction in the northern part of Vietnam.
– There is a great need of cement in Vietnam for road building and other construction work, says Bengt Farneman.
The loan has a maturity of 15 years. NIB has previously granted a loan amounting to USD 15 million for the construction project. Danish deliveries are used for building the factory.

In earlier years NIB has been active in the energy sector in Vietnam. Moreover, NIB has financed paper production as well as a coffee factory.