Kuwait Fund For Arab Economic Development : Signing of a Loan Agreement in the Amount of KD 9,000,000 for the participation in the financing of the Guiyang Second People’s Hospital Expansion Project in the People’s Republic of China

A Loan Agreement was signed today in Beijing between the People's Republic of China and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, whereby the Fund will provide a Loan in the Amount of 9.0 Million Kuwaiti Dinars (equivalent to about US$ 30.6 Million), to the People's Republic of China, to participate in the financing of the Guiyang Second People's Hospital Expansion Project. It is worth-mentioning that the Fund is a Kuwaiti public corporation which relies entirely on its own resources for making loans and providing other kinds of development assistance.

The Loan Agreement was signed on behalf of the Government of the People's Republic of China, by His Excellency Mr. Wang Zhongjing, Deputy Director - General Department of International Economic and Financial Cooperation, Ministry of Finance, the People's Republic of China, while the Loan Agreement was signed on behalf of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, by Mr. Ghanem Sulaiman Al-Ghenaiman Deputy Director-General of the Fund , in attendance of His Excellency

Mr. Wencai Zhang, Director General- Department of International Economic and Financial Cooperation, Ministry of Finance and H.E. Mr. Sameeh Essa Johar Hayat, Ambassador of the Embassy of the State of Kuwait to the People's Republic of China, and Mr. Yousef Al-Bader, Regional Manager for East, South Asia and Pacific Countries at the Fund, attended the signing ceremony.

The Project aims to meet the increasing demand on health services, especially neurology health services from within Guizhou Province and others mainly from adjacent Provinces in the People's Republic of China, through the expansion of the existing Guiyang Second People's Hospital, which leads to supporting the social development whether in Guiyang Municipality directly, or in Guizhou Province and adjacent Provinces in general.

The Project comprises constructing and equipping a specialized Brain Building, and a Comprehensive Building for other clinics, with a capacity of 1,400 beds, of a floor area of about 98,000 m², in addition to provision of medical equipment and furniture needed, Landscaping and Parking, and Consultancy Services for detailed designs and tender documents preparation and supervision of construction.

The total cost of the Project, including physical and price contingencies, taxes, and interest during the implementation period, is estimated at about 635.5 Million Chinese Yuan, equivalent to about 28.1 Million Kuwaiti Dinars, of which about 1.3 Million Kuwaiti Dinars, is in foreign currency, representing about 5% of the total cost of the Project. The Fund's Loan in the amount of 9.0 Million Kuwaiti Dinars will cover about 32% of the total cost of the Project. The Guiyang Municipal People's Government shall cover the remainder of the Project costs and any increase in the cost of the Project.

The Loan shall be for a period of 24 Years, including a grace period of 4 Years, and shall be repaid in 40 semi-annual installments, the first of which will be due on the first date on which interest or other charges will fall due, pursuant to the Loan Agreement, after the expiration of the said grace period. The Loan bears an interest rate of 1.5% per annum, in addition to a rate of 0.5% per annum to meet administrative costs and other expenses incurred in the implementation of the Loan Agreement.

This Kuwait Fund's Loan represents the 39^th Loan extended by the Kuwait Fund to the People's Republic of China, as the Kuwait Fund has previously extended 38 Loans to the People's Republic of China, to finance projects in various sectors, with a total amount of approximately 289 Million Kuwaiti Dinars (equivalent to about US$ 982.6 Million).