The French Agency for Development (AFD) will provide eligible Vietnamese businesses and organisations with 113 million EUR in loans and non-refundable aid this year, as part of its non-sovereign package launched in Vietnam for the first time.

A memorandum of understanding to this effect was signed in Hanoi on May 22 by Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Van Trung and AFD Director Remi Genevey, under which the sum will go to four projects.

In 2010, AFD offered a trial loan package of 100 million USD to Huoi Quang hydropower plant, managed by the Electricity of Vietnam.

Operational in Vietnam since 1994, AFD has to date committed 1.5 billion EUR to 76 projects in the country. For the past five years, its annual average commitment has reached nearly 100 million EUR.-VNA