(Barrons/AFP, Paris, 15 November 2024) French energy giant TotalEnergies, recipient of Italian (& French?) ECA funding, was aware of accusations of abuses committed by soldiers charged with protecting its gas site in Mozambique as early as 2021. “Complaints of extortion, disappearances and even violence leading to the deaths of two fishermen are recorded in quarterly social reports written by teams of Mozambique LNG,” TotalEnergie’s subsidiary in the country, according to Le Monde. The reports were sent to the Italian export credit agency SACE, from which an Italian NGO, ReCommon, and Le Monde obtained them under a right of access to information legislation. TotalEnergies used hired guards of the local affiliate of UK security firm G4S linked to a former liberation figure and ex-minister of security in the 1980s. ECA-Watch noted in 2016 that Korean, French, Italian and Chinese ECAs were set to play a key role in the financing of two LNG projects planned in the north of Mozambique despite widespread concerns about gross human rights violations by local authorities.
Korea
Hyundai gets $1.35B in export financing for Georgia EV facility
(Korea Joongang Daily, Seoul, 16 October 2024) The Korea Trade Insurance Corporation granted $1.35 billion in export financing to Hyundai Motor’s $5.5 billion EV manufacturing facility in Georgia, which began partial operation in early October. The financing was decided to help Hyundai “strengthen its global competitiveness by offering financial support to its EV manufacturing facility in North America, one of the biggest auto markets in the world,” the state-run export credit agency said Wednesday. The factory in Bryan County, Georgia, is the automaker’s first EV-dedicated manufacturing plant in the United States. It recently started partial production, around six months ahead of schedule, in order to rapidly qualify for the U.S. government tax credits of up to $7,500 for EVs assembled in North America.
Critical Minerals Security Partnership may not be enough for Australia
(Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Canberra, 25 September 2024) Fourteen countries this week took what they intended to be a big step in countering China’s dominance of critical minerals supply. But it’s unclear whether the initiative will restore competitiveness of Australian production and investment in the face of massive subsidies offered by China and, in response, the United States. The Minerals Security Partnership, a coalition of 14 countries, including the G7, Australia, India, South Korea, and European Union members, announced plans for a finance network to boost investment in critical metals. The initiative will tap into domestic export credit agencies and development finance institutions to attract private sector capital to produce, extract, process and recycle critical minerals, especially in riskier markets. The partnership seeks to lower investment risks and drive global supply chain resilience by providing guarantees and concessional financing. Australia’s economic prosperity and national security are intrinsically linked to the exploitation of its abundant resources, notably critical minerals. These minerals are the new oil. They’re the building blocks for everything from emerging technology to energy transition. Although Australia has vast reserves, its critical mineral mining and processing are still threatened by the intense subsidy war between the US and China.
K-SURE to provide $1.3 bn credit for Saudi petrochemical project
(Maeil Business News, Seoul, 24 May 2024) The Korea Trade Insurance Corp. (K-SURE), an export credit agency, said on Thursday that it will provide mid- to long-term export financing worth 1.7 trillion won ($1.3 billion) for the mega-scale Amiral petrochemical complex project in Saudi Arabia won by South Korean construction company Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co.
Korean ECA to provide $187bn in support to bolster exports
(Pulse News, Seoul, 21 March 2024) The Korea Trade Insurance Corp. (K-SURE), an export credit agency, will provide the largest-ever trade insurance and financial support worth 250 trillion won ($187 billion) to achieve the government‘s target of $700 billion in exports this year. According to sources from the government and the trade industry on Wednesday, K-SURE plans to provide a total of 250 trillion won in support for short-term and medium- to long-term export insurance, export credit guarantees, and exchange rate fluctuation insurance this year.
Financing uncertainty clouds South Korean ECA push for massive arms deals
(Reuters, London, 8 February 2024) Legislation aimed at increasing South Korea’s import-export lending to support huge new defence sales has stalled amid partisan deadlock ahead of a divisive parliamentary election, officials and analysts said. South Korea’s ruling and opposition parties have both introduced bills to boost the state bank’s equity capital to 25 trillion-35 trillion won ($19 billion-$26 billion), raising the lending limit to 10 trillion-14 trillion won, as the country seeks to expedite Poland’s $22 billion weapons purchase. The sale is a key part of South Korea’s plan to become the world’s fourth-largest defence exporter by 2027. But under current law, the Export-Import Bank of Korea cannot lend more than 40% of its roughly 15 trillion won of equity capital, or about 6 trillion won, to a single borrower. The state bank already provided about 6 trillion won in credit during the first phase of the deal with Poland, South Korea’s biggest-ever weapons sale. If there is no credit line to finance procurement from South Korea it could put the unsigned procurement of 308 K9 howitzers and 820 K2 Black Panther tanks in jeopardy,
Texas Gulf Coast communities speak out against Japanese ECA backed LNG development
(Oil Change International, Washington, 28 November 2023) Representatives of Friends of the Earth Japan & Oil Change International traveled to Texas & Louisiana in early November for a week-long tour, organized by Texas Campaign for the Environment, to witness & learn about the impacts of LNG development on local communities. The Japanese government is the largest global financier of LNG export terminals, providing 50% of international public finance, or $39.7 billion, for LNG export capacity built from 2012-2022, as well as projects under construction or expected to be built by 2026. In the Gulf South, Japan’s export credit agencies, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance, provided $3.7 billion in financing for the Freeport LNG terminal & $4.5 billion for Cameron LNG in 2014. The Japanese & Korean governments are also rolling out plans to develop new ammonia & hydrogen production & export facilities globally including in Lake Charles & Corpus Christi. These projects would worsen the climate crisis & subject communities to further exploitation & harm. The proliferation of LNG projects & petrochemical facilities, coupled with regulatory failure to enforce environmental standards, have allowed the fossil fuel industry to severely pollute the air & water without consequence. Residents of Port Arthur & other communities on the Gulf Coast suffer from high rates of cancer, respiratory infections & migraines. Water security is also an issue. Industrial water use is prioritized over the needs of local residents. Despite the serious health and safety concerns with the Freeport LNG terminal, Japan’s export credit insurance agency NEXI is planning to support the expansion of the Cameron LNG terminal located on Calcasieu Lake in Louisiana.
Korea Eximbank prepares ECA Version 2.0 to boost exports
(Pulse News, Soeul, 24 July 2023) The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) is gearing up to upgrade its traditional model of financial support for promoting exports of Korean companies to a new level with the introduction of Export Credit Agency (ECA) Version 2.0. The management strategy, termed ‘Beyond Core,’ aims to move beyond the core responsibility of supporting export expansion and evolve the ECA to adapt to the changing landscape. As part of this strategy, Korea Eximbank is considering activating limited investment operations. Similar to Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Export Development Canada (EDC), which have set up investment-specific subsidiaries for development finance in developing countries
Who are the major financiers of Brazilian FPSOs?
(BN Americas, Santiago, 7 July 2023) Although the energy transition and ESG issues are gaining traction, many banks and credit export entities keep financing oil and gas undertakings, such as floating production storage and offloading units (FPSOs) ordered by Brazil’s federal oil firm Petrobras. FPSOs are used for the production and processing of hydrocarbons, and for the storage of oil. This situation will not change much as demand for hydrocarbons will remain and a significant portion of oil companies’ decarbonization capital expenses comes from oil and gas revenues. Furthermore, the geopolitical context, with the war in Ukraine and gas supply in Europe, has reignited energy security concerns. Meanwhile, financial products like green and sustainability linked bonds, developed to support companies that do not operate in totally green areas, do not yield higher returns. According to Daniela Davila, a partner at Vieira Rezende law firm, new FPSOs are mainly financed by Asian financial institutions (banks and leasing houses) and export credit agencies from countries such as China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore, where shipyards that build the hulls/modules of the units are located. Some banks, such as BNP Paribas and HSBC, have announced their exit from this industry, while New York-based Nordea has shown less appetite for oil and gas. On the other hand, traditional offshore players like Norway’s DNB or Germany’s Deutsche Bank continue to support the sector. CNOOC and CNODC are also Petrobras’ partners in the Mero field, which will receive the Sepetiba unit this year and Alexandre de Gusmão in 2025. Banks from Japan, like Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Japan Bank for International Corporation, often work with Japan’s Modec, which signed several charter contracts of FPSOs under construction with Petrobras and one for Equinor’s Bacalhau field. Among other financial institutions with tradition in FPSO financing are the UK’s Standard Chartered Bank; DBS Bank, United Overseas Bank, Clifford Capital and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation from Singapore; China Investment Corporation; Korea Development Bank (South Korea); Maybank and CIMB (Malaysia); Société Générale and Natixis (France); and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (Japan). Export credit agencies in the sector include China’s Sinosure, Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (Japan) and Sace (Italy).
Guarantees for 1st Batch of Korea’s Arms Exports to Poland limit 2nd batch due to 40% limit on equity capital
(Business Korea, Seoul, 4 July 2023) According to the Export-Import Bank of Korea’s loan and guarantee data by item and country on July 3, the state-run bank provided 488.2 billion won (US$375.7 million) in financial support in the form of loans and guarantees to the defense sector in the first five months of this year. The total amount of loans and guarantees provided by Korea Eximbank to all industries in the same period was 31.8 trillion won. Export finance for Korea’s defense exports accounted for 1.6 percent of the total export finance provided by Korea Eximbank this year. According to the Enforcement Decree of the Export-Import Bank of Korea Act, the state-run lender cannot provide credit to the same borrower for more than 40 percent of its equity capital. Korea Eximbank will thus be unable to afford to give additional loans and guarantees to Poland if it provides US$5 billion in support for the first batch. The amount of loans and guarantees provided by Korea Eximbank in connection with purchases of weapons signed from 2018 to 2021 ranged from 100 to 500 billion won per year. But the figure surged to the two trillion won range in 2022. Guarantees with Poland accounted for most of the financial support, in the US$2 trillion range. In addition to Poland, Korea Eximbank provided defense-related financial support to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, and Indonesia in 2022.
