Cambodia has officially entered the era of expressways with the opening of the expressway from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville. Supported by a syndicated loan for which China Development Bank (CDB) acts as the mandated lead arranger, the expressway is one of the key projects for promoting the “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) between China and Cambodia. Chinese companies are responsible for the investment, construction and operation of the expressway, which is 187 kilometers long and stretches across five provinces and cities in Cambodia, shortening the drive time from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from more than five hours to less than two hours. On the day the expressway opened to traffic, many Cambodians uploaded videos of the expressway and the scenery along the way to social media, excitedly sharing their “first experience of expressway”.
In Thailand, the refined oil pipeline of Northeast Thailand, financed with the international syndicated loan led by CDB, completed its mechanical installation and entered the commissioning stage of oil intake in July this year. Upon completion, the project is expected to greatly shorten the domestic transportation and delivery cycle of refined oil products in the country, saving logistics costs, reducing exhaust emissions from truck transportation, increasing the conveyance volume and maintaining the stability of oil supply. At the same time, it will also facilitate Thailand’s oil trade with neighboring countries and help strengthen the connectivity between Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries such as Laos and Myanmar. It is the first energy infrastructure project in Thailand supported by CBD, which has received high comments from the Thai government and all walks of life.
These projects are the latest examples of CDB’s support for mutually beneficial cooperation between China and ASEAN countries. Over the years, following international practices and market-oriented operation principles, CDB has been focusing on promoting the high-quality development of the BRI, playing its role as a development finance institution, making good use of the special loans for the BRI, and driving the deepening of cooperation of China-ASEAN Inter-bank Association (CAIBA). It will continue to increase support for priority areas such as infrastructure connectivity, production capacity cooperation, financial cooperation and people’s well-being. As of the end of October this year, CDB has issued USD 50.6 billion in loans to support 353 projects in the ASEAN countries. Specifically, USD 6.5 billion was extended in cooperation with member banks under the framework of CAIBA. At the same time, it has set up special scholarships to support young employees of cooperation agencies in ASEAN regions, and one-time reward to commend outstanding students from ASEAN countries studying in China. It has also held multilateral and bilateral seminars with the ASEAN countries to share China’s experience in economic development, providing relevant parties with a better understanding of the practice of development finance in supporting social development.
As it is underscored in the report of the 20th CPC National Congress, China remains committed to its fundamental national policy of opening to the outside world and pursue mutually beneficial strategy of opening up. At the 12th Meeting of the council of CAIBA and the 3rd meeting of the council of ASEAN-plus-Three Interbank Cooperation Mechanism (APTIBCM) held earlier this month, CDB held in-depth discussions with other members on such issues as financing for Environment, Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance (ESG) in the post-pandemic era, boosting regional financial cooperation to enhance infrastructure connectivity, promoting inclusive finance to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and driving regional financial cooperation through digital innovation. At the meeting, the parties concerned also signed two joint statements of CAIBA and APTIBCM on strengthening cooperation of green and sustainable development respectively, aiming to deepen green and low-carbon cooperation.
In the next step, CDB will earnestly study and implement the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress, and focus on promoting the building of a closer China-ASEAN community of shared future, increasing support of green loans, actively developing inclusive finance, strengthening sci-tech innovation, and continuing to strengthen cooperation with the members of the CAIBA in such areas as mechanism building, business cooperation, exchange and training. CDB will cooperate with more international organizations and financial institutions in third-party markets through syndicated loans and co-financing, jointly providing financial services of higher quality and efficiency for regional economic and social development, and making new achievements and contributions in promoting the high-quality development of the BRI.
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