Introduction 

Loans for Supporting Greater Openness refer to the local- and foreign-currency loans provided by the Bank to eligible borrowers for stepping up support to China’s opening-up, promoting transformation and upgrading, realizing gradient transfer of processing trade, and undertaking infrastructure construction. The loans are also aimed at promoting the development of service trade, tourism, education and cultural industries, energy conservation, environmental protection, and agricultural industrialization, as well as enhancing the emergency preparedness and disaster relief capacity of local governments, fulfilling the Bank’s social responsibility, and facilitating supporting funding to the on-lending projects of foreign governments and international financial institutions. 

Targets 

These loans are targeted at all domestic enterprises registered with administrative bureaus for industry and commerce of China and having an independent legal capacity, or institutional legal persons qualified for borrowing. 

Application Conditions 

1. The borrower shall comply with the laws and regulations of China. It must have viable operational management and financial conditions, and good credit standing. If the borrower is the legal person of a new project, its controlling shareholder or de facto controller shall have a good credit standing, with no major bad record. If the borrower is a financing platform of local governments, it shall comply with relevant provisions of the Bank for local governments’ financing platform loan management. 

2. If the Bank’s existing measures are adopted for credit rating, the borrower’s credit rating with the Bank shall be above BB (inclusive). The required credit rating of the borrower can be relaxed to B if full guarantee from banks or strategic customers is provided, or it is guaranteed by highly-liquid collateral/pledges. 

3. It shall comply with the requirements of China on the investment qualification or business qualification of investors of proposed investment projects (if any). 

4. The use of loans and sources of repayment shall be clearly specified, and they must comply with the laws and regulations of China. 

5. The relevant projects shall have good expected economic and social returns, in addition to the ability to repay the loan principal and interest accrued. 

6. The relevant projects must comply with the relevant policies of China on industry, land, environmental protection, energy conservation, and emission reduction, as well as the credit policy of the Bank. 

7. All necessary examination and approval or filing formalities for the proposed investment projects must be completed according to the rules of the central and local governments of China, with the legal management procedures for fixed asset investment projects performed according to relevant regulations of China. If the aforementioned procedures cannot be completed before the submission of relevant projects for approval, they must be completed before loans are provided. 

8. The relevant projects shall comply with the equity capital management rules of China for investment projects. The ratio of capital of the proposed investment projects shall meet the requirements of the Notice of the State Council on Adjusting and Improving the Capital System of Fixed Asset Investment Projects (No. 51 [2015] of the State Council). In addition, the equity capital concerned shall be put into relevant projects before the loans from the Bank. Alternatively, it must be in place in equal proportion to the loans from the Bank simultaneously. Should the State Council adjust the regulation on the ratio of projects’ equity capital, the new regulations shall prevail. 

9. All necessary auxiliary conditions for relevant projects must have been fulfilled. 

10. The entity preparing the feasibility study report and the project executors (including the project design enterprise, construction enterprise, and supervisory enterprise) shall possess qualifications required by relevant government agencies to implement relevant projects. In addition, they must have the experience in successfully implementing similar projects. Relevant executing entities that fail to obtain professional qualifications or competences before applying for loans shall fulfill relevant conditions before the provision of loans. 

11. A repayment guarantee recognized by the Bank shall be provided (if necessary). 

12. Competent authorities under the State Council, or local governments at the prefecture/municipal level (inclusive) shall make recommendations to the Bank (if any). 

13. Other conditions required by the Bank shall apply.