Qatar lent Tunisia US$500m in a private placement this week, the Tunisian central bank said on Wednesday, to help government finances recover from last year’s uprising.
The five-year loan carries an interest rate of 2.5 percent, the central bank said in a statement.
A finance ministry official said last month that Qatar would subscribe to US$500m in five-year Tunisian treasury bonds at 2.5 percent but did not say when the transaction would be completed.
Popular protests ousted veteran Tunisian leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali last year but months of unrest, strikes and protests discouraged tourism and hit the economy, which shrank 1.8 percent. The newly-elected government expects the economy to return to growth in 2012 but has sought external support.
In addition to the Qatari loan, Tunisia has secured US guarantees for a planned bond issue this year, which should allow it to borrow on international markets at a favourable rate.
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