New links with Canada

(Caracas, December 9, 1992).- A loan agreement with the Export Development Corporation (EDC) of Canada was signed on December 8 in Ottawa by CAF Vice President of Finance Juan Fernando Posada.

CAF’s relation with EDC dates from 1988 when a US$10 million line of credit was established to finance exports of Canadian goods and services, with a portion of the local expenses paid by importers in the Andean countries.

When this agreement expired this year, CAF requested its renewal and increase to US$20 million, together with changes to some provisions to make foreign trade operations between Andean and Canadian businesses more flexible.

The maximum term under this loan is 8 1/2 years, and the minimum amount for each group of financial operations is US$100 million.

Various operations by companies from the Andean area will be financed by CAF under this line of credit. For example, the Venezuelan petrochemical company RESILIN which is building a linear polyethylene plant in Zulia state, and Cooperativa Mixta de Teléfonos Cochabamba (COMTECO) of Bolivia, which is expanding a telephone exchange.

The line will also finance the supply of equipment to teach electricity, electronics and related subjects in educational establishments in Ecuador, in a program executed by the ministries of Education and Finance.