South Korea announced it is setting aside 1.94 trillion won ($1.95 billion) for soft loans to developing countries in the next four years. The sum more than doubles the allocation worth 897 billion won ($899.9 million) for the Economic Development and Cooperation Fund during the 2002-2005 period. According to the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the fund has issued a total of 2.38 trillion won ($2.39 billion) through 2005. The ministry further disclosed that the country has relaxed its criteria for untied loans and its regulations on tied loans to enable local companies to gain access to opportunities under projects sponsored by international lenders. At present, South Korean firms have difficulty winning World Bank-backed contracts as the agency forbids the use of tied loans for most commercially-valuable projects.
Source: Seoul Ups Loans for Developing Nations (Yonhap News)
