EXIM Thailand provides guarantee for the debut issue of baht-denominated Asian bond worth 1.5 billion baht by the Lao PDR to finance its Nam Ngum 2 hydropower dam and electricity plant project. This Thailand-Lao partnership signifies a new scheme of cross-border fund raising in Asia with an aim to enhance infrastructure and economic development in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). General Surayud Chulanont, Prime Minister, and Mr. Bouasone Bouphavanh, Prime Minister of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), preside over the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Export-Import Bank of Thailand (EXIM Thailand), represented by Dr. Apichai Boontherawara, EXIM Thailand President, and Electricite du Laos (EdL), represented by Mr. Khamphone Saignasane, EdL General Manager, at the Government House, Bangkok on December 18, 2006. Under the MOU, EdL will issue the EXIM Thailand-guaranteed baht bonds worth 1.5 billion baht to support the EdL’s equity participation in the SouthEast Asia Energy Limited (SEAN). SEAN is a company registered in Thailand to operate the Nam Ngum 2 hydropower dam and power plant in the Lao PDR.