Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Saturday that his country will relax the conditions in carrying out its yen loan scheme for emerging countries in Asia, as Japan seeks to boost its economy through infrastructure exports to the fast-growing region.
“The pace of growth in Asia is gaining steam with each passing year. (Implementation of) yen loans should not be left behind by this speed,” Abe said in a speech at a business and investment summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as leaders of ASEAN and their dialogue partners including Japan gathered in Kuala Lumpur for a series of summits.
Tokyo’s move to review its yen loan scheme to make it more acceptable to potential partner countries is seen as a countermeasure to Beijing, which has tapped into the huge infrastructure development needs of Asia, especially after Japan lost a key Indonesian high-speed railway contract to China.
