Major Tokyo Banks to Back China Project
In the biggest Japanese loan participation to China since Beijing’s crackdown on pro-democracy protests last year, 11 major Tokyo banks have joined an $82-million syndication loan for a television tube plant in China, banking sources said today.
“This loan has an important meaning. It shows that the big Japanese banks are prepared to resume lending to China on a large scale. The other Japanese banks will probably follow suit,” said a Hong Kong banker.
China’s bloody crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in June, 1989, prompted commercial banks worldwide to freeze or sharply cut lending to China.
The sources said the loan syndicate consists of 11 Japanese banks and several Chinese financial institutions. The company receiving the loan, Shenzhen SEG Hitachi Colour Displays Devices Co., is 25% owned by Japanese electronics giant Hitachi; Chinese companies own the rest.
Funds from the loan will finance construction and provide working capital for the project near Hong Kong. Its maximum output will be 1.6 million tubes a year.
The Japanese banks that have joined the loan are Bank of Toyko, Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Fuji, Sanwa, Tokai, Industrial Bank of Japan, Hokkaido Takushoku, Sumitomo, Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan, Toyo Trust & Banking and Yasuda Trust & Banking, the sources said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
