The Republic of Korea and CABEI sign a US$50 million Trust Fund for Grants to support the Central American region

Tegucigalpa, May 19, 2020- Within the framework of the Republic of Korea’s recent incorporation as a non-regional member, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MoEF) signed a US$50 million Grant Agreement for non-reimbursable financial cooperation to be channeled through a Trust Fund managed by CABEI.

The Agreement’s financial resources, to be received over the next five years, will contribute to develop economic, financial and technical studies for the design and execution of important projects in the Central American region, especially those that look to enhance regional integration and sustainable development amongst eligible countries.

As such, these resources will be used to identify and prepare projects that include international content, technologies and best practices, especially from the Republic of Korea, in relevant areas such as Health, Energy, Social and Productive Infrastructure, Freight and Passenger Transportation, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, among others.

For his part, CABEI’s Executive President, Dr. Dante Mossi, stated that such Agreement “further strengthens our relationship with the Republic of Korea and Asia taking into account that, through this cooperation, the transfer of knowledge and technology to the Central American region can be used to formulate initiatives in key sectors; while best practices in areas such as economic development and growth will be widely promoted, considering they have led this Asian country to become the eleventh economy of the world.”

Likewise, Dr. Mossi pointed out that “this Agreement takes place at a key moment, during which additional initiatives can be implemented to support the region’s response to the COVID-19 crisis, especially in the Health sector.”

The Republic of Korea officially joined CABEI as a non-regional member on December 31, 2019 through a US$450 million capital subscription which accounts to a 7.2% shareholder stake and made its first of four capital installments for US$28.1 million on January 10, 2020. Likewise, loan agreements with official resources for US$500 million have been signed for public and private sector projects. Such loans have been focused on developing areas such as road infrastructure, construction and equipment of hospitals, as well as energy through the production and distribution of natural gas, among others.

CABEI currently has 15 shareholders in its capital structure; 5 founding shareholders: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica; 3 non-founding regional shareholders: Panama, the Dominican Republic and Belize and 7 non-regional shareholders: Taiwan, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Spain, Cuba and Republic of Korea.