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OECF providing $ 200m soft loans a year

By Shahiduzzaman Khan
The Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) is providing soft loans to Bangladesh to the tune of US* 200 million a year on an aver W
OECF mission chief in Bangladesh Haruta told The Dally Star on Wednesday that Japan's contribution through economic cooperation as the largest supplier of development capital in the world was receiving widespread admiration from all sides.
OECF. a Japanese government financial agencies specialised in Official Development Assistance (ODA) was providing soft loans to the governments In developing countries to be utilised for the Implementation of various development projects and programmes.
Haruta said Japan's net ODA in 1989 ranked first in volume terms, surpassing the United Stales among 18 Development Assistance Committees (DAC) countries.
He said OECF's role was
aimed at providing assistance for the developing countries self-help effort for economic development and stabilisation by through long-term concessional loans, such as project loans for social and economic infrastructure projects, structural adjustment lending with other aid organisations and financial intermediary loans to assist private sector-end users.
Dwelling on soft loan disbursement to Bangladesh, Haruta said Bangladesh was the fifth biggest recipient country of Japanese ODA In 1989 and Japan's ODA to Bangladesh was the biggest among donor countries agencies in the same year, surpassing even the World Bank.
Volume of commitment of OECF loans rose steadily after country's liberation and the cumulative total reached Taka 1133 crore. 91 per cent of the total commitment of the soft loans had already been disbursed by November 1990, Haruta said.
In terms of cumulative total
of commitment, Bangladesh is the 9th largest recipient country of OECF loans. Nineteen commodity loans and 27 project loans have been committed so far. Haruta claimed that terms and conditions of OECF loans to Bangladesh were most concessional, compared with any other OECF recipient countries. At present, interest rate is only one per cent a year and maturity is 30 years inclusive of 10 years grace period, he added.
Nearly 50 per cent of OECF project loans provided to Bangladesh are directed to industry and mincing -sector, such as urea fertiliser factories, 33 per cent to energy and
power sector and seven per cent to telecommunication which account for 90 per cent of the total project loans.
Since 1974, OECF has been extending 19 commodity loans to Bangladesh almost every year. In 1990, OECF committed the Energy Sector Adjustment Loan which Is a co -financing programme with the World Bank, Haruta said.
In addition to ODA loans. OECF is also making equity investment in corporations registered in Japan whose business operations will contribute specifically to promote economic cooperation with developing countries. Haruta said.
In 1990, OECF made equity Investment in the Joint venture project of the Karnaphuli Fertilizer Company Limited (KAFCO) worth over US* 420 million, to build an export-oriented fertilizer plant. Along with OECF, Bangladesh, public development agencies of Denmark, Romania and Britain and some private sector agencies of Japan and Denmark have joined as shareholders of the KAFCO.
Haruta said this was the first case for OECF to make equity Investment in the Joint venture In Bangladesh and a showcase for future foreign investment.