Japan provides Myanmar with over 51 bln yen ODA loan

Myanmar's Budget Department and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have reached a loan agreement on the latter's provision of over 51 billion yens' Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Myanmar, official media reported Tuesday.

Of the 51.052 billion yen's ODA loan, 17 billion yen is to be used for construction and renovation of infrastructure to reduce poverty in regions and states of the Southeast Asian nation, while 20 billion yen for development of infrastructure in Thilawa Special Economic Zone and 14.052 billion yen for upgrading power grid project and power stations in Yangon.

The signing of the loan agreement was a follow-up of exchange of notes betweenJapanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Myanmar President U Thein Sein during the prior's visit to Nay Pyi Taw in May.

More loan was provided on the occasion for scholarship program for Myanmar's human resources development and upgrading of Yangon' s water supply system which are expected to run under another 40 billion yens' grant aid and technical assistance.

During Abe's May visit, Japan waived again remaining 188.6billion yens in debt owed by Myanmar.

As of April 2012, Myanmar owed Japan a total debt of 502.4 billion yens, of which198.9 billion yensturned normal loan in January 2013, while another amount of 127.4 billion yens was written off later in January.

On the occasion of Abe'svisit, nine Myanmar public companies and a consortium of three Japanese firms comprising Mitsubishi, Marubeni and Sumitomo signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on development of Myanmar's Thilawa SEZ.

According to official statistics, bilateral trade between Myanmar and Japan totaled1.414 billion dollars in 2012, of which Myanmar's import from Japan took 1.053 billion dollars, while its export to the East Asian nation stood at 360.79 million dollars.

Japan's investment in Myanmar amounted to 270.283 million U.S. dollars as of March 2013 since Myanmar opened to such investment in late 1988 and standing the 11th in Myanmar's foreign investment line-up.