Ecuadorian government applies for loan

(Caracas, October 9, 1992).- On an official visit on October 8 to CAF headquarters in Caracas, Ecuadorian Minister of Industry, Commerce, Integration and Fisheries, Mauricio Pinto, applied to the institution for a US$40 million loan to renew his country’s heavy vehicle fleet.

This project for the transport sector is important for facilitating Ecuadorian access to the Andean free trade area, which Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela are working rapidly to implement.

On October 1, Ecuador opened its borders to trade with Colombia and Bolivia by creating bilateral free trade zones, and began dismantling tariff and customs barriers with both countries in order to achieve zero tariff and eliminate borders for free circulation of products.

The commercial opening process is also taking place in Venezuela - although more gradually - and is expected to conclude in January next year.

Official figures indicate that 60% of Ecuadorian trade in the Andean subregion is with Colombia and projections show this trade could quintuple after the tariff cuts.

The executing body of the loan is Corporación Financiera Nacional which will act as wholesale bank to transfer the funds to final users through the private financial system.

As a result of the steps taken by Minister Mauricio Pinto, CAF agreed to speed up the process of formal approval of the loan.