財團法人國際合作發展基金會貸款處理辦法

These Regulations are formulated pursuant to Article 17 of the Act for the Establishment of the International Cooperation and Development Fund (hereinafter referred to as the “Fund”).

1Terms used in these Regulations are defined as follows:

21. Diplomatic allies: Refers to countries that have formal diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan) (hereinafter the “ROC”)

32. Friendly countries: Refers to countries that do not have formal diplomatic ties with the ROC, but are willing to cooperate with the ROC to achieve mutual economic development or to enhance substantive bilateral relations

43. Foreign governments: Refers to the central governments and local self-governing bodies that are recognized as public legal persons of other foreign countries.

1Loans provided by the Fund shall be used for the following purposes:

21. Assisting diplomatic allies or friendly countries with their sustainable economic, social, and environmental development

32. Improving bilateral economic interaction with diplomatic allies or friendly countries

43. Cooperating with intergovernmental organizations, foreign entities or groups to assist diplomatic allies or friendly countries with their sustainable economic, social and environmental development

54. Other activities that may contribute to the development of international economic cooperation or the promotion of international friendships.

1The borrowers eligible for loans provided by the Fund shall be as follows:

21. Foreign governments, intergovernmental organizations, or international non-governmental organizations

32. Foreign entities or groups approved by the Board of Directors of the Fund

4The “foreign entities or groups” described in the preceding paragraph shall be limited to those for which the receipt of loans would hold significant importance, as indicated in writing by the government of the country concerned or an intergovernmental organization.

1A loan may be entirely financed by the Fund or partly financed thereby through cofinancing arrangements.

2The cofinancing arrangements prescribed in the preceding paragraph refer to loans that are extended directly or indirectly to borrowers prescribed in the preceding article by the Fund jointly with intergovernmental organizations, international non-governmental organizations, or foreign entities or groups.

3An indirect loan as prescribed in the preceding paragraph shall refer to a situation where the Fund cooperates for co-financing with intergovernmental organizations, international non-governmental organizations or foreign entities or groups either by extending loans to such organizations, entities or groups for them to on-lend the loan proceeds to the borrowers or by participating in the risk of such organizations, entities or groups when they extend loans to the borrowers.

1Unless the borrower is a foreign central government or an intergovernmental organization, or the loan is granted to alleviate poverty or empower vulnerable groups with an amount of no more than US$3 million, no loan shall be provided by the Fund without a guarantee provided by one of the following:

21. The Ministry of Finance, central bank, or another central government agency with authority over treasury or national properties in the borrower’s country

32. The intergovernmental organization

4Regardless of whether the borrower provides a guarantee as prescribed in the preceding paragraph, the Fund may, depending on the circumstances, require the borrower to provide collaterals or other forms of security to better protect the rights of the Fund.

1To apply for a loan, the borrower shall, either itself or through a foreign government, intergovernmental organization, or international non-governmental organization, file an application with the Fund, together with the following documents:

21. A loan application that includes the following information:

3(1) Description of the proposed loan project

4(2) Amount, purpose, and period of the proposed loan, as well as the repayment source

5(3) Where the applicant is not the borrower, the names of the proposed borrower and executing agency

6(4) Amount and source of the borrower’s counterpart funds thereof

72. A feasibility study report of the proposed loan project. If no feasibility study has been conducted upon application, this shall be noted in the application so that the Fund may determine whether to assist the borrower with such a study in accordance with Item 1, Paragraph 1, Article 9.

83. Where the borrower is not a foreign government or an intergovernmental organization, it shall provide the following documents in addition to those prescribed in the preceding two items:

Besides loan projects proposed by the Fund, a prospective borrower may apply for a loan by submitting the application and the documents prescribed in the preceding article. These documents shall be transferred to the Fund by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the relevant overseas mission of the ROC.

1A loan provided by the Fund shall be made in accordance with the following procedures:

21. The Fund shall preliminarily review the application documents, application procedures, prospective borrower’s qualificaitons, purposes of the application, proposed loan project feasibility, and other related matters and documents. Where a feasibility study has not been conducted as of the time of application, the Fund may commission a domestic or foreign professional institution to assist the borrower with the feasibility study, if necessary. The Fund will pay no more than US$300,000 for the expense of such a study, and expenses in excess of US$300,000 will be financed by the proposed loan.

32. When carrying out the project identification, preparation, appraisal, negotiation and approval in respect of a proposed project, the Fund may, if necessary, assign employees or commission relevant experts to conduct project identification, fact-finding, assessment and loan negotiation missions.

43. The secretary general of the Fund or a person authorized may invite relevant department heads to review the written report and the proposed loan project and, if necessary, request outside experts to provide consultation. Loan proposal that obtain positive reviews shall be submitted to the Board of Directors of the Fund for further discussion and approval.

54. A loan agreement will be executed, which shall set forth the provisions for disbursement procedures, procurement guidelines, periodic progress reports, and manner of supervision, in addition to the basic terms and conditions of the loan, such as amount, interest rate, period, and other related legal provisions.

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1The Board of Directors of the Fund may authorize the chairperson to approve loan proposals, whether initiated by the Fund or an applicant, for up to US$1 million, provided that the cases are then submitted to the Board of Directors of the Fund for record.

2The loans prescribed in the preceding paragraph shall be only those that have first been reviewed and approved at a meeting convened by the secretary general of the Fund or the person authorized thereby and attended by relevant department heads and, if necessary, outside experts providing consultation.

1Loans provided by the Fund shall be in line with the following primary terms and conditions:

21. Currency: Major international currencies or the local currency

32. Loan amount: In principle, the loan should not exceed 70 percent of the total estimated project cost. If the project significantly benefits the development of the country in which the project is located, the rate may be raised to 90 percent with approval by the Board of Directors of the Fund.

43. Interest rate: Taking into consideration the particulars of the borrower and the loan project, the development assistance principles of intergovernmental organizations applicable to the beneficiary country, and the country’s economic development status, the interest rate may either be fixed or set at a certain margin over the Secured Overnight Financing Rate or other reference rates prevailing in international financial markets.

54. Loan period: Based on the cash flow status and other particulars of the loan project, the maximum loan period shall be 30 years and the maximum grace period shall be seven years.

65. Commitment fee: 0.75 percent per annum on the unutilized portion of the committed amount, payable semiannually

76. Guarantee or security: As described in Article 6

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The Regulations shall become effective from the date of announcement.