(Reuters, Jakarta, 24 June 2023) Indonesia’s state energy company Pertamina (PERTM.UL) reached a $3.1 billion financing deal with a number of export credit agencies and commercial banks to fund the upgrade of its Balikpapan refinery, the company said on Saturday. The lenders include export credit agencies from South Korea, Italy and the United States, and 22 commercial banks. Pertamina will use the funds for the expansion of its Balikpapan oil refinery to a capacity of 360,000 barrels per day (bpd), from 260,000 bpd. Pertamina claims it will be able to produce more environmentally friendly fuels. [Oil Change International noted in May that US President Biden has broken a major G7 climate promise by financing this Indonesian oil refinery.]
Korea
Comparing Government Financing of Reactor Exports
(Columbia University, New York, 25 August 2022) This report, part of wider work on nuclear energy at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, compares the financing terms offered between 2000 and 2021 by the world’s major exporters of nuclear power plants: Russia, France, the Republic of Korea (ROK), China, and the United States. Decarbonizing the world’s energy supply by 2050 will require financing low-carbon energy projects at a cost of upwards of trillions of dollars. Nuclear energy is one of the few dispatchable low-carbon energy resources, and studies by the International Energy Agency have estimated a possible doubling of nuclear power as part of scenarios for achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by midcentury. Large, capital-intensive projects such as nuclear power plants can be challenging for some countries to finance, however. As a result, countries wishing to build nuclear reactors look for attractive financing from supplier nations in the form of loans and equity.
Korea to become ECA driven battery powerhouse by 2030
(Korea Times, Seoul, 29 November 2022) The government is aiming to make Korea-produced batteries account for at least 40 percent of global market share by 2030, as assisted by the establishment of an intergovernmental alliance to secure key battery materials, fostering a sustainable industrial ecosystem and expansion of tax credits, the trade ministry said Tuesday. The government will form and strengthen alliances with resource-rich countries, including Australia, Canada and Chile. Materials secured from the three countries will be refined there, or in nearby countries with which the U.S. has a free trade agreement. Up to 3 trillion Won in loans and guarantees will be provided over the next five years for industry players investing in refining and smelting projects, as mediated and overseen by Korea Trade Insurance Corp., an export credit agency and Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank), a state-run lender.
Canada 2nd in the G20 for fossil fuel subsidies
(The Saxon, Salisbury, ? November 2022) Canada continues to heavily subsidize fossil fuels despite its international commitments, according to a report by Oil Change International. The nonprofit estimates that Canada has, on average, given up to US$8.5 billion annually to projects related to this type of energy between 2019 and 2021. Among G20 countries, Canada is the second most publicly funded fossil fuel project. Only Japan spends more, with an annual average of US$10.6 billion. South Korea and China complete the front runners with US$7.3 billion and US$6.7 billion respectively in subsidies to the fossil fuel sector. France, Brazil and Germany lead the G20 in green energy subsidies, with US$2.8 billion, US$2.5 billion and US$2.2 billion, respectively. Canada, meanwhile, spends about US$800 million.
South Korean ECAs challenged during National Assembly session about Barossa Project
(Friends of the Earch US, Washington, 24 October 2022) During the annual National Assembly audit this month, Korea Export-Import Bank (KEXIM) and Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-SURE) were questioned by assembly members on their decision to finance the Barossa gas project in Australia. The Barossa project, spearheaded by Australia’s Santos and Korea’s SK E&S, was recently ordered to halt drilling after the Australian Federal Court decided Traditional Owners had not been properly consulted. While both KEXIM and K-SURE have approved a total of USD 660 million (KRW 800 billion) of additional financing for the project, the financial deal has not been closed yet. During this year’s National Assembly audit session, K-SURE was reprimanded for violating international environmental regulations and was questioned on the Ministry of Environment’s greenwashing ruling around SK E&S’ advertisements about Barossa gas. K-SURE stated that it screened the project in accordance with international guidelines and Australian law. It also claimed that if Santos loses its Barossa drilling appeal heard at the Australian Federal Court, it will likely decide whether to proceed with its financing. A hearing from a National Assembly member revealed that K-SURE was aware of the lack of Indigenous consultation but relied on the words of project owners and commercial banks supporting the gas project, showing a passive review process in deciding to provide billions of wons’ worth of taxpayer money. With continued criticism from assembly members, the Chairman of K-SURE stated that the agency will comprehensively review various risks associated with the project before deciding whether to extend the expiration date of its financing approval, which is January 2023. Environmental activists have continued to demand the cancellation of public financing toward the Barossa gas project.
Korean Eximbank holds OECD Environmental and Social Practitioners’ Meeting
(Korea Times, Soeul, 24 October 2022) The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) is holding a meeting of environmental and social practitioners October 24-25 to help address environmental and social issues when providing officially supported export credits. Eximbank is co-hosting the 46th OECD Environmental and Social Practitioners’ Meeting in Seoul jointly with the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation. The meetings have been held at the OECD headquarters in Paris in the first half of each year, while the meetings for the second half are held in one of the member countries. Around 50 experts from 25 OECD member countries are participating, sharing ideas to evaluate the environmental and social impact of projects and policies and practices related to due diligence where official export credit support is requested, as well as minimizing such impact. A Korean Eximbank employee was appointed in 2018 as chair of the OECD Working Party on Export Credits and Credit Guarantees, an entity established in 1963 under the Trade Committee of the OECD
Chilean firm to receive Korean ECA $100 million fund for stable Australian lithium supply to South Korean firms
(Aju Business Daily, Seoul, 7 September 2022) Korea Eximbank, an official export credit agency in South Korea, will provide a fund of $100 million to SQM, a Chilean supplier of plant nutrients, iodine, lithium and industrial chemicals, to help ensure a stable supply of lithium for domestic battery and cathode material makers. The fund including $55 million in loans and $45 million in guarantees will be used to invest in SQM’s development of lithium mines in Australia and the renovation and expansion of production facilities. SQM, one of the world’s biggest lithium producers, should supply lithium worth about $470 million to South Korean companies for 10 years.
Korean battery maker secures $2B loan from 3 ECAS
(Reuters, Seoul 19 August 2022) South Korea’s SK On battery maker has raised about 2 trillion won ($1.51 billion) from private equity firms, pushing the electric vehicle (EV) battery maker’s valuation to around 20 trillion won as it works to expand production abroad, local media reported on Thursday. The battery unit of energy group SK Innovation Co Ltd (096770.KS) has been in talks with a local private equity consortium the Korea Economic Daily Newspaper said, citing unidentified investment banking sources. Last month, SK On secured a $2 billion loan from three export credit agencies to finance its factory in Hungary. In other news, Hyundai Mobis announced on Aug. 22 that Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) and LG Energy Solution have secured US$710 million to finance the construction of a battery cell joint venture plant in Indonesia. Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Corp., Hyundai Mobis and LG Energy Solution provided debt guarantees according to their stake, and the Korea Trade Insurance Corp., a state-run export credit institution, provided credit guarantees.
TNG receives AU$200M K-Sure conditional debt facility for Mt Peake mine
(Kalkine Media, Sidney, 9 August 2022) One of the leading Australian resource and mineral processing technology companies, TNG Limited (ASX:TNG) has secured a major cornerstone component of the multi-source, global funding package for its Mount Peake Vanadium-Titanium-Iron Project in the Northern Territory. In the latest development, TNG has received a conditional debt funding of AU$200 million (US$138 M) from the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-Sure), which is the official export credit agency of South Korea under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. This debt funding is for TNG’s flagship Mount Peake Project, as per the terms of a conditional Letter of Support.
SK On Secures US$2bn in loan guarantees from 3 ECAs to Invest in Europe
(Business Korea, Seoul, 29 July 2022) SK On, a battery business subsidiary of SK Innovation, has raised a total of US$2 billion for investment in Europe through official ECAS in Korea and Europe. The company plans to use the funds to finance the construction of its third European plant in Ivancsa, Hungary. The policy financial institutions that helped SK On to secure funds were Euler Hermes, a German trade insurance agency, Korea Trade Insurance Corp., and the Export-Import Bank of Korea. The three institutions provide guarantees or insurance for SK On in the process of getting loans from overseas banks. Germany’s Euler Hermes and Korea Trade Insurance Corp. will provide insurance worth USUS$800 million and USUS$700 million, respectively. The Export-Import Bank of Korea will offer a US$200 million guarantee. In addition, the Export-Import Bank of Korea will directly lend US$300 million to SK On.
