Index for May 2012

Volume , Issue

  • What's New April 2012

    March 2012 - What's New! Indices - 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011  2012

    "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) Battle over reauthorizing the US Ex-Im Bank continues
    2) Chinese export credit insurance reaches $216.24b in '11
    3) Illinois Soybean Association calls for Cuba ExIm eligibility
    4) Vietnam ministry to pay 20% of export credit premiums
    5) Berne Union Reports Members Insure $1.8 Trillion of International Trade, Investment
    6) Norway Announces State-Owned Replacement for Eksportfinans
    7) Measures to encourage Russian manufactured exports with new ECA
    8) Gazprom-Led South Stream Hires Banks for Gas Pipeline Financing

      View Back Issues of What's New

Volume 11, Issue 6

  • (European Commission, Brussels, 29 June 2012) The European Commission is inviting comments on its first draft of a revised communication on the application of EU state aid rules to short-term export credit insurance. With the financial crisis cutting the supply of "private" export credit finance, despite trillions in taxpayer subsidies to banks, increased attention is falling on government subsidies to exporters which distorts the "level playing field" supposedly regulated by the OECD and the WTO.

Volume 11, Issue 5

  • (Pacific Environment, Washington, 25 May 2012) The Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank), a federal government trade promotion agency, voted to provide $90 million in financing to the top U.S. coal exporter, Xcoal Energy & Resources, to export coal to China and other Asian countries. The vote to subsidize coal exports follows a decrease in U.S. demand for coal due to environmental and health concerns and the appearance of cheaper alternatives. “It is idiotic for the federal government to subsidize coal exports just as we begin to curb coal consumption here in the U.S. The Ex-Im Bank shouldn’t be exporting our environmental and health problems abroad,” said Doug Norlen, Policy Director at Pacific Environment.
  • OECD's ECG approves new Common Approaches

    (ECA Watch, 28 May 2012) At their session on April 16/17, after almost 2 years of negotiations, the ECG of the OECD adopted a new version of the 2007 Common Approaches on the Environment and Officially Supported Export Credits. The text apparently references the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and ILO core conventions. World Bank safeguard policies and IFC performance standards will remain benchmarks (performance standards apparently becoming mandatory for project finance). The ECA's experts will intensify their exchange on project related human rights assessments and elaborate recommendations to the ECG. The new text must be adopted by the OECD Council before publication, which may happen toward the end of June.
  • (Reuters, Beijing, 3 May 2012) China is willing to reform its export-credit financing, an unnamed senior U.S. official said, a move that can help level the playing field between Chinese exporters and companies in other countries. The U.S., 27 nations of the European Union, Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland already have common approach rules on the use of government export credits under the OECD, a rich nations club. China is not party to that pact and U.S. companies have complained that its cheap government-backed financing often makes it difficult to conclude sales.
  • (Business Insurance, NY, CreditMan UK, 22 May 2012) Marsh, a US insurance broking and risk management firm has formed a a group of specialists to help its clients find public agencies for political risk and credit insurance. Increased volatility in political risk coupled with lingering effects from the global financial crisis have project developers, investors, exporters, and others turning increasingly to public agencies for political risk and trade credit insurance... Accessing public bilateral and multilateral agencies (MDBs) and export credit agencies (ECAs) can be intricate and time consuming and requires more specialised expertise than needed to access private insurance. While requiring a higher level of engagement by the insured to obtain public insurance coverage compared to the private market, there are benefits. Public insurers are driven by broad objectives, including promoting foreign trade or furthering economic development. They tend to offer longer coverage periods and have a higher tolerance for risk than their private sector peers. In some cases, public insurers can also deliver deterrence effects on host governments.
  • (Bloomberg, London, 23 May 2012) PFA Pension, Denmark’s largest pension fund, and the Eksport Kredit Fonden boosted its loan programs to 55 billion kroner (US$9.3 billion) to help Danish groups including wind companies such as Vestas Wind Systems... PFA Pension is providing 10 billion kroner in loans to foreign companies to fund orders at Danish companies such as Vestas, said EKF. EKF will arrange the loan and guarantee the money is paid back... Export credit agencies are taking a bigger share of lending to the renewable energy industry as the financial crisis erodes banks’ ability to make the longer-term loans that projects such as offshore wind farms require... “We are creating alternatives to the banks for funding projects,” said Anette Eberhard, head of EKF. Banks, also facing the latest round of Basel rules, have less appetite for risk and are 'pretty reluctant' to lend beyond five years", she said.
  • (Vanguard, Lagos, 26 May 2012) The Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) is partnering the Nigerian Film Corporation in a co-sponsoring arrangement at the on-going 65th edition of Cannes International Film Festival, in France. The NEXIM team is at the festival to seek co-financing/co-production opportunities in support of the Nigerian motion picture industry.
  • (Hindu Business Line, Chennai, 25 May 2012) U.S. farm support legislation is due for revision later this year. Cotton exporters like India should take a cue from Brazil and pressure the U.S. to bring down its market-distorting export subsidies... The origin of this dispute can be traced back to September 2002 when Brazil first took the U.S. to the WTO over latter's trade-distorting subsidies for cotton. Later, Argentina, Australia, Benin, Canada, Chad, China, Chinese Taipei, European Union, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Paraguay, Venezuela, Japan and Thailand joined the dispute as third parties. After losing at the WTO, the US made some changes in its cotton programme... Unhappy with the U.S. actions, Brazil asked for a WTO compliance panel, which found that the US has not fully complied with the WTO rulings... Brazil agreed to postpone retaliatory actions until the revision of U.S. farm legislation, in return for an annual payment of $147.3 million in technical assistance and capacity-building aid to the Brazilian Cotton Institute.
  • (Sudan Tribune, Nairobi, 16 May 16 2012) – South Sudan, has joined the membership of the African Trade Insurance (ATI) agency which insures investment and political risks in the continent... Established in 2001 the billion-dollar multilateral financial institution provides export credit insurance, political risk insurance, investment insurance and other financial products to help reduce the business risks and costs of doing business in Africa... ATI has membership of more than ten African countries including Kenya, which chairs it as well as international and regional financial institutions such as the World Bank, the African Development Bank and major companies in the private sector... In 2011 alone, ATI was able to facilitate a 188 percent increase in trade and investment into Africa valued at over US$3.5 billion dollars, according to its annual report, with Kenya and Tanzania for instance, each received over US$1 billion dollars worth of trade and investment in vital projects such as energy, roads and water sectors.
  • (All Africa News, London, 4 May 2012) The African Development Bank (AfDB) held its inaugural Annual Syndications and Co-financiers meeting in London on 24th April, 2012. The event was intended to broaden and deepen the pool of AfDB's co-financing partners for private sector operations, primarily among commercial investors, but also other development financial institutions and export credit agencies... Participants exchanged views on how official and commercial investors can best work together to increase investment into the continent... The speakers and the audience discussed potential ways to build on the continent's recent economic performance and outlook to fund Africa's needs in areas such as infrastructure, natural resource management, energy, or financial services.