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	Overview of the Problems
	Highlight: Russia's Sakhalin II
	Highlight: The BTC Pipeline

What's New! Vol. 8, No. 6

June 2009 - What's New! Indices - 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

"What's New!" is a periodic update to keep you informed of the latest on the ECA Watch website. What's New! features a wide range of materials related to the reform of Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) including NGO publications and releases, news articles, commentaries and announcements about the policies and practices of ECAs and ECA-financed projects world-wide. If you would like to receive "What's New!" simply add your e-mail to the ECA-Action list at www.eca-watch.org today! Questions? Email info-at-eca-watch.org

	1)	European Governments Pull ECA Financing for Turkey's Ilisu Dam
	2)	CSOs urge OECD time-out on renewable and nuclear energy finance incentive negotiations
	3)	IFC proposes new finance intermediary to facilitate ECA supported trade deals
	4)	Mandelson writes Prime Minister & Chancellor to set out radical overhaul of ECGD
	5)	UK groups question BAE termination of ECGD insurance
	6)	Green energy investments overtake fossil fuel, but not for ECAs
	7)	IRN Introduction to China's ECA Financed Overseas Dam Industry
	8)	Belgian ECA sees Congress victory in India as positive for reforms
	9)	ECA supported aircraft sales to move from 20% to 50%
	10)	How is G20 doing on ECA pledges from London summit?
	11)	World leaders seek new Iran strategy
	12)	European Commission approves Finnish export-credit insurance scheme
	—	View Back Issues of What's New

1.	European Governments Pull ECA Financing for Turkey's Ilisu Dam
	(Environmental Finance, London, 25 June 2009) Germany, Austria and Switzerland are to withdraw their export credit guarantees for Turkey’s Ilisu dam project, jeopardising the project’s future, according to a report last Friday from the German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau. An announcement is due on 6 July – 180 days after the three export credit agencies (ECAs) suspended guarantees, because the controversial project had not met World Bank environment, resettlement and cultural heritage guidelines. The Environmental News Service reports that this is the first time export credit contracts have been canceled on humanitarian, cultural and environmental grounds..."

2.	CSOs urge OECD time-out on renewable and nuclear energy finance incentive negotiations
	(ECA Watch, 12 June 2009) Despite essentially no public consultation or disclosure of proposals at either the OECD or national levels, Participants in the Arrangement began renegotiating the renewal of financial incentives on June 15th for so-called renewable energy and nuclear energy incentives through sector understandings under the Arrangement. NGOs oppose the extension of favourable terms of financing for already heavily subsidized nuclear power plants and urge that enhanced financial terms for renewable energy be crafted in ways that combat climate change, generate sustainable jobs, benefit both exporting and host countries, communities and the local environment, and prevent odious debt.

3	IFC proposes new finance intermediary to facilitate ECA supported trade deals
	(IFC, Washington, 8 June 2009) The World Bank's IFC, in conjunction with private banks KfW-IPEX, Unicredit Group, Northstar Trade Finance Inc. of Germany, Austria and Canada respectively, is proposing to supply $US300,000 of the $US1.5 million set-up costs of the Global ECA Finance Ltd. likely to be based in Vienna. "GEFL will be a specialized financial intermediary that will serve as a co-operation and risk distribution vehicle for medium- / long-term ECA-backed trade finance transactions. It will provide a means to leverage the origination and risk absorption capacity of OECD banks and emerging market banks..."


4	Mandelson writes Prime Minister & Chancellor to set out radical overhaul of ECGD
4	(Telegraph, London, 6 June 2009) The UK Business Secretary and First Secretary of State and Lord President of the Council, has proposed the most significant reform of the Export Credit Guarantee Department's (ECGD) remit in almost 20 years and will prove controversial given the agency's role in assisting UK companies to secure major overseas weapons, aviation, oil and gas and infrastructure contracts.

5	UK groups question BAE termination of ECGD insurance
5	(Corner House & CAAT, 8 June 2009) As noted last month, the Corner House and Campaign Against the Arms Trade have now written the OECD Export Credit Working Group and Working Group on Bribery urging them to continue investigations of ECGD support for BAE arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The BBC notes that "In 2006, the British government scotched a serious fraud investigation into BAE's biggest deal, with Saudi Arabia. Now, Peter Marshall reveals that the company may have returned the favour. It has stopped a billion pound insurance contract which tied the government to the Saudi business."

6.	Green energy investments overtake fossil fuel, but not for ECAs
6.	(Guardian, London, 3 June 2009) Green energy overtook fossil fuels in attracting investment for power generation for the first time last year, according to UN figures released today. Wind, solar and other clean technologies attracted $140bn (£85bn) compared with $110bn for gas and coal for electrical power generation, with more than a third of the green cash destined for Britain and the rest of Europe. However, in July 2007 the ECG informed ECA Watch that there was a very short list of approved renewable projects and not enough experience to evaluate the special incentives for them.


7.	IRN Introduction to China's ECA Financed Overseas Dam Industry
7.	(International Rivers Network, Berkeley, June 2009) Western financiers are not building as many dams as they used to. Now, more and more dams around the world are being built by Chinese institutions, with many of them financed by China's Export Import Bank. China's overseas dam industry is now involved in over 200 big dams in regions such as the Mekong Basin and the Himalayas. These projects often pose enormous environmental and social risks.

8.	Belgian ECA sees Congress victory in India as positive for reforms
8.	(World Latest News, Brussels, 3 June 2009), The Belgian Export Credit Agency (ONDD) said Wednesday that the landslide victory of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in India is “positive news as the new government is expected to be more stable and more efficient”. However, challenges facing the government are significant, the country’s leading overseas export credit insurer said in a monthly risk assessment report.

9.	ECA supported aircraft sales to move from 20% to 50%
9.	(ECA Watch, Ottawa, 29 June 2009) In the wake of the Paris air show, a large number of articles have appeared this month highlighting the role of ECAs in the financing of commercial aircraft sales. We summarize and link a number of them here.


10.	How is G20 doing on ECA pledges from London summit?
10.	(Guardian, London, 5 June 2009) G8 finance ministers met in Italy June 12-13 in the latest of a series of high level summits on efforts to haul the world economy out of recession. The G20 in April also promised at least $250 billion over the next two years to support trade finance but so far there are no reports of that money being mobilised.

11.	World leaders seek new Iran strategy
11.	(Reuters, Brussels, 26 June 2009) World leaders face pressure to find a new policy for dealing with Iran following its disputed presidential election and crackdown on protesters, but are unlikely to tighten sanctions any time soon. The United States and the EU have scant leverage on Iran, which limits their options to condemnations of the repression and calls for the people's democratic will to be respected... Europeans have cut back on export credit guarantees for trade with Iran and could cut them further, although Germany, Italy and Austria are reluctant, especially when their exporters are struggling in the global economic crisis.

12.	European Commission approves Finnish export-credit insurance scheme
12.	(Europa, Brussels, 22 June 2009) The European Commission has authorised, under EC Treaty state aid rules, a measure adopted by Finland to limit the adverse impact of the current financial crisis on export firms. The Commission found the measure to be in line with its Temporary Framework for state aid measures to support access to finance in the current financial and economic crisis. In particular, the measure requires market-oriented remuneration and tackles the problem of the current unavailability of short-term export credit insurance cover in the private market. The Commission authorised the measure until 31 December 2010.