Japan to extend US$3.57b in loans to Libya

[dArKeR]

Japan will extend 400 billion yen (US$3.57 billion) in loans to Libya to help the Middle Eastern country rebuild after the United Nations lifted economic sanctions against it, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday.

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation will issue the funds for construction of canals and steel mills to help Libya improve its infrastructure. The loans will be provided on the condition that Japanese companies participate in the projects, the Nihon Keizai newspaper reported.

The decision follows more than a year of talks between the Libyan government and the bank and was finalized after the U.N. Security Council voted two weeks ago to end the 11-year-old sanctions on Libya, the newspaper said.

The canal and steel mill projects, each with estimated price tags as high as US$100 million, are attracting Japanese trading firms and engineering companies aiming to win contracts, the paper said. It did not provide the interest rate or other terms of the loan.

http://www.etaiwannews.com/Asia/2003/09/28/1064719400.htm