Mitsubishi Loans $130 Million to SP

[RANGOONP@xxxxxxx]

Mitsubishi-Led Group to Loan $130 Mln to Myanma Oil, NEN Says

Tokyo, Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Mitsubishi Corp., along with Nichimen Corp.,
Malaysia Export Credit Insurance Bhd and the Export-Import Bank of Thailand,
has signed an agreement to provide $130 million (18.8 billion yen) in
syndicated loans to Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise, Nikkei English News
reported. The public oil and gas company, which will begin repaying the seven-
year loan in 2000, plans to develop a natural gas field off the cost of
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. Myanma Oil is developing the field with
U.K.'s Premier Oil Plc, Japan's Nippon Oil Co. and an unidentified Thai public
oil company at a cost of $800 million, and once completed, will pipe about 1.4
million tons of gas annually to Thailand power plants, NEN said.   

Oil and power companies won't be deterred from investing in Myanmar amid
pressure from the international community on the country to improve its human-
rights record, a senior government official said this month.  

(NEN 8/22 www.nikkei.co.jp/enews/)