The 42nd annual meeting of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration was held in San Padle Sula, Honduras, on October 23, 2002.

The President of the Central Bank of China, Mr. Fai-Nan Perng, led a mission from Taiwan to attend the meeting. Before the annual meeting, under the witness of Mr. Perng, Secretary General of the ICDF Mr. Tzu-Pao Yang and the President of CABEI Mr. Pablo R. Schneider signed two agreements, the Regional Credit Guarantee Program and the Central American SME Technical Cooperation Acting Plan.

Under this credit guarantee program, CABEI agrees to provide guarantees and loans to ROC investors through its 29 cooperating financial institutions in Central America. The ICDF will cover 90% of CABEI's guarantee. In the Central American SME Technical Cooperation Acting Plan, CABEI will join its technical skills, manpower and financial resources to the ongoing SME, agriculture and industry assistance projects of the ICDF.

The Republic of China joined CABEI in 1992 and became its biggest outside area member. The President of the Central Bank of China is a member of CABEI's Board of Directors. ROC also dispatches a high-level government official as an executive director of the Board. Since all members of CABEI have formal diplomatic relationships with ROC, the ICDF has dispatched a specialist to work with CABEI on SME technical assistance projects.

Five years ago, ROC government provided a US$ 50 million loan for the Re-lending Project for Small and Medium Enterprises in five Central American countries. Up to June 2002, the Project has extended US$ 97 million in loans to SMEs, which created 1,783 new jobs and benefited 10,566 enterprises.

At the same time, the ICDF also implemented industry SME technical assistance projects to the same five Central American countries, and another two countries in the region, Belize and Panama. This project dispatched 174 commercial and technical consultants to hold 76 strategy seminars in Central America and help 53 enterprises to increase the efficiency of their production. It also helped seven countries to improve their national industrial development institutions. In order to help Taiwanese investors, the ICDF dispatched the Central America Commercial and Investment Service Mission to Guatemala in 1999. This mission helps Taiwanese investors identify cooperation and investment projects in Central America.

The signing of this extended credit guarantee program with CABEI will enhance private sector cooperation further, in terms of both capital investment and technology transfer, which may in turn create new strategies to improve efficient marketing and competitive production.

• Update: 2018/03/01
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