(Bloomberg, New York, 11 October 2024) The US Export-Import Bank authorized a $690 million loan to help build a petrochemical plant in Malaysia, despite objections from climate activists who say the project flouts Biden-Harris administration promises to halt financing for fossil fuel projects abroad. The loan approved Thursday and disclosed Friday comes amid intensifying scrutiny of how independent US agencies are addressing climate change following decisions that run counter to President Joe Biden’s environmental agenda. In 2021 Biden issued an executive order vowing to curb public funding of climate-damaging ventures and the US signed a pledge with 33 other nations committing to halt such support.
Malaysia
Airbus bribery scandal triggers new probes worldwide
(Reuters, Paris, 3 February 2020) Fallout from the Airbus bribery scandal reverberated around the world on Monday as the head of one of its top buyers temporarily stood down and investigations were launched in countries aggrieved at being dragged into the increasingly political row. Prosecution documents agreed by Airbus detailed a global network of agents or middlemen in transactions across the group’s business and run from a cell in Paris where the group had part of its headquarters, split between France and Germany. Outlines of the operation and its annual budget of 250 million to 300 million euros had been reported by Reuters. fter Britain’s Special Fraud Office reported that Airbus had hired the wife of a Sri Lankan Airlines executive as its intermediary in connection with aircraft negotiations, Airbus misled UK export credit agency UKEF over her name and gender, while paying her company $2 million the SFO said. Payments to “agents” in Nigeria, Korea, Taiwan, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Ghana and Malasia are being investigated.
European ECAs may loose out to Russian and/or Chinese sales of fighter jets to Malaysia
(Deutsche Welle, Bonn, 29 May 2019) Financial troubles may force Malaysia to drop its plans to buy highly capable multirole combat aircraft (MRCA) and settle for cheaper, less capable fighter jets to replace its current fleet of Russian MiG 29s that are mostly grounded. Europe’s MRCA makers Eurofighter and Dassault Aviation have been wooing Malaysia for almost a decade for a deal. Kuala Lumpur has threatened to boycott EU goods, if the 28-nation bloc goes ahead with its plan to phase out palm oil from transport fuel after the European Commission concluded that palm oil cultivation, with some exceptions, caused deforestation and that its use in transport fuels could not be counted toward its renewable energy goals. Malaysia has said China, Russia and Pakistan have expressed their willingness to be partly paid in palm oil for their fighter jets. This is likely to complicate matters for the RMAF, which has traditionally preferred using Western equipment, including on its Russian Sukhoi jets. Malaysia’s latest attempt at barter trade could be beneficial for Russia, which has seen China walk away with many defense deals in the region and undercut Moscow’s arm supplies. Russia has a long track record of swapping weapons for commodities in the region, including as part of its fighter jet deals with Indonesia and Vietnam.
UK Government considering UKEF deal with Saudi Aramco
(Ekklesia, London, 16 November 2018) In the wake of the alleged murder of Jamal Khashoggi and international warnings on climate change, the UK Government is discreetly considering supporting a Saudi Arabian oil company with a petrochemical project. UK Export Finance (UKEF), the controversial export credit agency which underwrites risky export deals to boost the UK’s international trade, recently announced that it could use public funds to help develop a large petrochemical refinery in Malaysia. The project, PRefChem, is a joint venture between Petronas, the Malaysian state oil company, and Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Arabian oil giant.
Chinese ECA supports shale oil fired Jordanian power plant
(Stockhouse Publishing, Vancouver, 6 May 2016) China’s Yudean Group joins Attarat Power Company as a strategic investor in the Attarat Power Company (APCO) a subsidiary of Eesti Energia of Estonia, the world’s biggest oil shale to energy company. Yudean has agreed to purchase 45% of the shares and Malaysia’s YTL a further 15% of the shares, with Eesti Energia stepping down to 10% and Jordan’s Near East Investments exiting the project. Following the completion of the share transfers (which is subject to a number of conditions), APCO will be indirectly owned by Eesti Energia AS of Estonia (10%), YTL Power International Bhd of Malaysia (45%) and Yudean Group of China (45%). Earlier this year APCO signed agreements with Bank of China (BoC) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) to provide debt funding for the project. The USD 1.6 billion debt financing is expected to be provided on the basis of support by China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure).
