Index of ECA Watch What's New Bulletins from January 2008 to December 2008
Indices for 2010 2009 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002
December 2008
1) China protests latest U.S. trade case at WTO
2) NGOs welcome German, Austrian & Swiss decision to suspend contracts
A. Ilisu Dam Project facing severe backlash
B. Turkey Goes Rogue on Ilisu
C. Export insurers halt Turkey's Ilisu dam project
D. Turkish government tightens the screw on project opponents
F. Activists seize Austrian ECA to protest Turkish dam project
3) Trade suffers as suppliers struggle to obtain financing
4) New JIBC projects
5) Russia's oil companies face short-term crunch
6) German export credit restrictions anger business, Iran and Israel
November 2008
1) ECA Watch protests inadequacies of OECD consultation with CSOs
A. NGOs protest against continuing destruction by OECD export credit agencies
B. Photos and video of the 18 November demonstration at the OECD
C. Correspondence with the Export Credit Working Group and OECD Secretary-General Gurria
D. Bilateral national consultations not working well
2) The impact of the world financial crisis on export credits
A. Export credits and the financial crisis - Statement by the OECD Working Party on Export Credits and Credit Guarantees
B. National ECAs scramble to protect exporters
C. WTO's Lamy warns of credit shrinkage damages to sustained growth
D. Planemakers, largest ECA clients, stuck with unsold planes
3) New Dutch export credits for Indonesian weapons systems
4) Log, Stock and Barrel - A new web resource on Financial Institutions in the Resource Sector from the Heinrich Boell Foundation & urgewald
5) Turkey continues Ilisu dam construction despite reports ECA conditions not met
6) New JIBC projects
7) IRN presents guide to China's overseas dam industry
October 2008
1) ECAs begin withdrawal from controversial Ilisu dam financing
2) ECAs and the financial crisis
A. ExIm competitiveness report for 2007
B. ECAs and aircraft financing
C. Hermes to come to aid of German exporters
D. Dangerous derivatives at heart of financial crisis
3) ECAs and nuclear power
4) UK MPs call for ECGD sustainability thrust
5) EDC to voluntarily and proactively disclose internal audit reports
6) OeKB looking to support controversial Tasmanian pulp project
7) Canadians join massive Angola infrastructure renewal project
September 2008
1) OECD ECG declines substantive response to ECA-Watch peer review proposals
2) ECAs and Nuclear Power
A. OECD ECG reviewing nuclear power protocols under the Arrangement
B. JIBC to be merged into new Japanese financial body
3) New JIBC Projects
4) ECAs and Corruption
A. KBR executive pleades guilty in ECA supported Bonny Island bribe scandal
B. San Antonio businessman to plea bargain in U.S. ExIm Mexico bribery case
5) International bank crisis puts spotlight on ECA funding for aircraft
6) Ilisu: A Test Case for the Global Dam Industry
7) Indonesian military purchases support by ECA line of credit
A. Indonesian submarine, tanks, missles to be bought with export credits
B. Expanded cover of Dutch ECA for Indonesia used for military exports
8) Renewed ECA credits a part of Zimbabwe political negotiations?
9) Indian ECA supports Ethiopian projects
10) ECAs support Katanga mine project in Congo
11) India sees inexpensive ECA long-term credits as part of credit crunch planning
12) The World Bank Takes the Money and Runs from Chad
August 2008
1) OECD hits UK hard on anti-corruption
2) BTC pipeline in Georgia shows need for greater ECA diligence
3) Could the OECD's Fall ECA/civil society consultation be meaningful?
4) AECL cites US/French ECA subsidies in plea for Ontario nuclear deal
5) Failure of WTO's Doha negotiations leaves ECA subsidies in effect
6) Escalating sanctions are squeezing Iran’s economy says Australian ECA
7) ECAs interested in PNG LNG project
8) Dutch credit debt swaps increase Indonesia risk profile
July 2008
1) UK Law Lords rule termination of BAE/Saudi investigation was legal
2) Continuing controversy over Turkey's Ilisu Dam
A. June 20 2008 ECA meeting with NGOs reveals many serious problems
B. Italian lawyers visit to Ilisu area 11-13 July 2008 finds serious problems
C. Italian NGOs protest Unibank Ilisu plans at 17 July 2008 demonstration in Milan
3) More than 50 Spanish NGOs express concerns over reform of Spanish ECA CESCE
4) UK ECA ECGD to publish greenhouse gas implications of it`s project portfolio
5) Chinese ECA supported Sudan`s Merowe dam begins flooding out local population
6) Halifax Initiative submission on Canada`s Export Development Corporation Act
7) Hong Kong ECA chief resigns over corruption allegations
8) International Rivers publishes report on new financiers and the environment
June 2008
1) The OECD Common Approaches are dead!
2) Environmental Groups Condemn Japanese and French Banks for Financing Sakhalin II Oil and Gas Project in Russia
A. Photo report from Sakhalin fact finding mission
3) OPIC agrees to review Bolivian community's mining project complaint
4) ECAs approve funding for controversial Camisea LNG project
5) German ECA Hermes bankrolls climate change
6) How ECA corporate support indebts the world's poor
7) Ongoing ECA fraud investigations raise questions of OECD ECA compliance
8) House of Lords to hear SFO appeal of ruling re BAE / Saudi / ECGD scandal
May 2008
1) Dutch urged to keep export credit sustainable
2) ECAs meet in Vienna to overcome Turkish inability to meet Ilisu conditions
3) Exporting Destruction. Export credits, illegal logging and deforestation
4) Areva and Westinghouse vie for South African nuclear plant with ECA support
5) EDC announces human rights policy
6) EDC supports XOJet purchase of Bombardier Challenger jets
7) San Antonio Businessman Accused of Defrauding U.S. ExIm Bank of Millions
8) US ExIm to fund India power plants
9) India waives ECA debt to Cuba
10) OECD commemorates 30 years of "The Arrangement"
April 2008
1) UK court declares cancellation of ECA BAE/Saudi fraud case illegal
2) UN's Ruggie focuses spotlight on export credit agencies
3) Sace joins ECA refusals to support trade with Iran
4) High cost of Indian ECA coverage a hindrance to deeper India/Russia trade relations
5) ECAs important for aircraft financing
6) Russian, French and Italian ECAs sign deal for super jet development
7) South Africa writes off ECA debt from Cuba
8) Planned Hungarian guarantee scheme incompatible with EU rules
9) US Eximbank approves $2.2 billion program for India
10) Kazakhstan and China: Relations strengthened further, facilitated by ECAs
March 2008
1) Sakhalin Energy withdraws finance applications to US & UK ECAs
2) lisu controversy exposed by Experts and Financial Times
A. Protest Rallies Against Turkish Dam Held All Over Europe
B. Berlin May Withdraw Backing for Turkish Project
C. Financial Times Weekend Magazine highlights Ilisu "Deep Divide"
D. ECA Committee of Experts report now available
3) Chinese ECA mired in Filipino corruption enquiries
4) Nationalisation of Dutch Export Credit Facility
5) Australian ECA EFIC finances Trinidad Coast Guard vessels
6) Investors sought for Yemen LNG project as costs skyrocket
7) Turkish geothermal plant qualifies for US ExIm renewable energy incentives
February 2008
1) SFO in UK High Court over dropped BAE bribery investigation
2) OECD announces new sustainable lending policies for export credits
3) Hermes changes export guarantee rules
4) Zurich Emerging Markets to insure controversial carbon credit projects
5) South African ECIC insures Malawian uranium mine project
6) New Ilisu Campaign Website
7) ECGD and Sinosure sign MoU on wider co-operation
8) European Parliamentary Committee encourages Chinese ECAs to conduct EIAs
9) US ExIm Bank increases coverage for Angola
January 2008
1) New report guides campaigners to previously hidden export credit information
2) More fiddling while Rome burns - banks float non-binding carbon principles
3) IFC approves US$300 million for flawed Peruvian Camisea II LNG project
4) Britain Unsure on Sakhalin
5) Indonesia signs US$615 power plant loan with China's Export-Import Bank
6) World Bank continues efforts to engage China's Export-Import Bank
7) New Chairman for ECGD's Advisory Council
8) SACE chooses Lehman Brothers to advise on privatization
9) Chad's unrest is partially related to ECA supported pipeline project
10) New DebtWatch book covers Spanish ECA CESCE's support for Spanish Companies