ronment. It required weaving together strong commitments from reputable and reliable
ECAs, multilaterals and private lenders; adding the necessary level of equity support, man-
agement involvement and technical expertise from world-class project sponsors; and docu-
menting the transaction to international standards.
The Meizhou Wan project demonstrates that true international limited-recourse project
financing can be achieved in China outside the BOT scheme. Unlike the Laibin B, Changsha
and similar projects, the Meizhou Wan project has no special concession agreement with a
Chinese governmental authority. Wigmore and Woo believe that Meizhou Wan sets an impor-
tant precedent for the future of project financing in China, because, in their view, the gov-
ernment is unlikely to continue providing the benefits seen in earlier BOT projects. They see
a trend towards less government support, requiring sponsors and lenders to structure deals
that resemble Meizhou Wan more than previous transactions financed in China.
(^1) This case study is based on various articles in the financial press, and on follow-up interviews with Robert L.K.
Tiong, Associate Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore,
and Gary Wigmore, Partner, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy.
(^2) ‘Meizhou Wan in Trouble’, Project Finance International, 1 May 2002, p. 25.
(^3) ‘Meizhou Wan May Refinance’, Project Finance International, 13 November 2002, p. 26.
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