A recent press report said that the Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) has entered into an agreement with Swaziland for extending a USD 20 soft loan to finance exports and consultancy services for setting up an Information Technology Park in the African nation.
Reports from the Reserve Bank said that the Line of Credit (LoC) is effective from July 6 this year and the date of execution of the agreement is March 30. Exim Bank has concluded an Agreement dated March 30, 2011 with the government of Swaziland according to which USD 20 million for financing eligible goods and services, including consultancy services, from India for the purpose of financing the setting up of an Information Technology Park in Swaziland will be made available.
According to reports the total credit provided under this agreement, at least 75 per cent of the goods and services, including consultancy services, have to be sourced from India. It has also decided to provide a LoC of USD 5 million to the Indo-Zambia Bank for financing goods and services as part of the another agreement.
Reports also said that the Exim Bank had last month entered into similar pacts with governments of two other African countries namely Ethiopia and Tanzania to provide soft loan totalling over USD 127 million for various projects.