(Global Trade Review, London, 14 December 2022) Canada and New Zealand have mapped out how they will put into action pledges to scrap ECA support for fossil fuel projects, ahead of an end-of-year deadline. At last year’s Cop26 summit in Glasgow, thirty-nine countries vowed to end public finance backing for fossil fuels by the end of 2022, which theoretically bars ECAs and export finance institutions from providing fresh backing for such projects from January 1, 2023. Canada was the second-biggest public financier of fossil fuel projects in the G20 between 2019 and 2021. On the same day, EDC’s fellow ECA New Zealand Export Credit (NZEC) outlined a similar policy to cement its Cop26 commitment, including an end to support for fossil fuel exploration, extraction, transportation, storage and refining, as well as power plants and supporting infrastructure and services. Even for a party which is “in the fossil fuel energy sector” but carrying out an unrelated transaction, “applications may be considered only where that party has a documented and realistic transition plan consistent with a 1.5°C warming limit and the goals of the Paris Agreement [on combating climate change],” the NZEC policy says. The release of NZEC’s policy means there are only five governments that are yet to outline how they will meet their commitments to axing public finance for fossil fuels by the end of this year, according to Oil Change International: Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. Of these, Germany, Italy and Spain agreed earlier this year to publicise their plans to wind down ECA support for fossil fuels as part of the Export Finance for Future (E3F) alliance, but so far have not.
Portugal
Mota-Engil Begins Work on ECA supported $1.8 Billion Nigeria-Niger Railway
(Bloomberg, New York, 9 February 2021) Mota-Engil’s local unit is a joint venture with Shoreline Group, an independent Nigerian oil producer. The nearly $2 billion of financing required for the rail line will be sourced from Europe, Credit Suisse Group AG, Africa Finance Corp. and German state bank KfW are finalizing loans from export credit agencies, multilateral institutions and commercial banks. Mota-Engil SGPS SA, a Portuguese construction company, started work on the $1.8 billion railway line that will connect Nigeria with neighbor Niger. Critics have questioned the commercial viability of the Kano-Maradi line, particularly the priority given to a link to Niger at a time when government revenue is scarce. Niger, with a GDP about one-fortieth the size of its larger neighbor, exported goods worth an estimated $1.54 billion last year, according to the International Monetary Fund. While the Mota-Engil group is based in Portugal, the company was originally founded in Angola in 1946. The firm has previously built or refurbished railways in countries including Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania, and recently announced other construction contracts in Ghana, South Africa and the Ivory Coast. Mota-Engil agreed in November to sell a minority stake in the company to state-controlled China Communications Construction Corp.
Portugal launches plan to boost exports hit by pandemic
(Reuters, Lisbon, 24 July 2020) Portugal’s government has launched a plan aimed at boosting its export sector to alleviate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with a goal of increasing exports to 53% of gross domestic product by 2030 from 44% last year. Last year, exports of goods and services rose 4.3% to a record of 93.5 billion euros ($108.5 billion), representing 44% of GDP. However, the coronavirus pandemic has already led to an abrupt drop in exports, with the country’s central bank predicting they will fall around 25% in 2020, mainly because tourism collapsed due to lockdowns and the absence of holidaymakers.
Iran, Portugal ECAs Sign Cooperation Deal
(Financial Tribune, Tehran, 20 April 2017) Export Guarantee Fund of Iran (EGFI) and Portugal’s private insurance firm COSEC signed a memorandum of understanding in Tehran on Tuesday to expand cooperation. The two entities agreed to expand cooperation in co-insurance, reinsurance, credit assessment, claims prevention and recovery of debts that help the exporters of both countries, EGFI reported in a press release. The private insurance COSEC has the mandate to manage the official export credit guarantee scheme on behalf of the Portuguese government. Since the lifting of sanctions, EGFI has been expanding ties with various ECAs and has held talks with institutions across the world, including the United Kingdom Export Finance, Japanese Nippon Export, Investment Insurance Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India, South Korea’s K-Sure and Italy’s SACE. Iran-Portugal trade stood at $1.76 million during the 10 months to January 20, 2017, Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines’ website reported.
European Commission publishes 2012 report on member ECA actvities
(European Commission, Brussels, 7 March 2014) Regulation (EU) No 1233/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2011 on the application of certain guidelines in the field of officially supported export credits foresees that Member States shall make available to the Commission an Annual Activity Report in order to step up transparency at Union level. The Commission produces an annual review for the European Parliament based on this information and the present annual review covers the calendar year 2012. Annual Activity Reports have been received from the following Member States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
