(Vanguard, Lagos, 4 October 2023) THE African Import Export Bank, Afri-Exim Bank, in collaboration with the Infrastructural Concession Regulatory Commission, ICRC, have approved a $1.2 billion loan facility to rehabilitate the moribund Burutu Port in Burutu, Delta State, Nigeria. An official of Afri-Exim Bank, Mr. Hope Nyongo, disclosed that the Business Case for Burutu Port has been prepared by the ICRC and encouraged investors with similar projects to take advantage of Joint Project Preparation Facility to develop such facilities. He stated: “Because of the typical nature of the maritime and the lack of internal capacity, we have a facility called the Joint Project Preparation Facility initiated by Afri-Exim for port related development in Africa.
ECAWatch Newsletter 10
Afreximbank signs US$300mn deal to support Congolese crude oil production
(Global Trade Review, London, 4 October 2023) The African Export-Import Bank has agreed a US$300mn facility with Trident OGX Congo to bump up crude oil production in the Republic of the Congo. Other export credit agencies (ECAs) around the world have come under fire for continuing to finance the oil industry, most prominently the ECAs of western countries whose governments signed up to end international fossil fuel financing for new oil and gas projects. But some claim that global efforts to drastically scale back oil and gas production disadvantages African nations that have not yet reaped the economic benefits of fossil fuels, a tension borne out in the struggle over financing the East African crude oil pipeline. While western economies have had years to prepare for ESG requirements, Gwen Mwaba, director and global head of trade finance at Afreximbank, said that there was now “an expectation for Africa to fall in line immediately, when the reality is that we also need time to find our way on this journey. We should be given that space given how little we contribute to carbon emissions as a continent compared to the western world,” she said.
ECAs and the airline industry’s financial landscape
(IATA, London, 26 October 2023) Airline finances were a major focus at the World Financial and World Passenger Symposiums. Airlines generally raised more money than they needed during the pandemic and so have good liquidity on the whole, but it is estimated that the industry will need to invest about $5 trillion or some $175 billion per year to achieve its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Yet the 2023 profit for airlines will be just $10 billion and that is following three years of heavy losses. Clearly, aviation will need to access finance to support its sustainability initiatives. Increasing demand and sustainability mean that money is being spent and airlines are reluctant to raise more capital at the moment because of the high interest rates. Airlines will therefore soon start to access finance again. It is expected that in the United States bond issuing markets will be the most active element. In China and Asia-Pacific, local banks will, as usual, be the main sources for financing while other areas will look more at sale and leaseback as well as export credit agencies.
London Hosts West and Central Africa Trade Forum
(Mirage News, London, 17 October 2023) Delegations from seven African nations joined leading UK companies and investors to advance partnerships that promote economic growth and jobs. Organised by UK Export Finance (UKEF) – the UK’s export credit agency – and DMA Invest, the Forum brings together prominent representatives from Benin, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Senegal and Togo to discuss new trade and investment opportunities with their UK counterparts that will benefit British businesses. It forms part of the Prime Minister’s priority to grow the economy.
ECAs and Reconstruction in Ukraine
(Ukraine Recovery, London, 22 June 2023) The Ukraine Recovery Conference 2023 was co-chaired by the UK and Ukraine in London on 21-22 June 2023. The conference was a continuation of the cycle of annual events, with URC 2022 conducted jointly with Switzerland in Lugano. The conference focussed on mobilising international support for Ukraine’s economic and social stabilisation and recovery from the effects of war, including through emergency assistance for immediate needs and financing private sector participation in the reconstruction process. URC 2023 showcased the strength and potential of the private sector in supporting Ukraine to “build back better”, working alongside a broad coalition of governments, international organisations and civil society. URC 2023 brought together Leaders, Ministers, and representatives of 59 states, 32 international organisations and international financial institutions, over 500 businesses, and 130 civil society organisations. Press articles this month (October) highlight Swedish, French, Dutch and Canadian support for aid to Ukraine: The Swedish government proposes to allocate SEK 333 million (about $30 million at the current exchange rate) for special export credit guarantees for companies trading with Ukraine; The French state-owned insurance company Bpifrance Assurance Export will insure French companies ready to invest in Ukraine and its recovery without waiting for the war to end; The Netherlands is allocating EUR 102 million for the third support package of assistance to Ukraine in 2023; Export Development Canada, without announcing specific funding has noted that it continues to closely monitor the situation in Ukraine, engage with Canadian exporters and qualified investors interested in the market and provide support through its suite of products.
EU and UK seek ban on ECA subsidies for foreign fossil fuel projects
(Financial Times, Brussels, 29 October 2023) The UK and EU will push the world’s richest countries to end subsidies for foreign oil and gas operations and coal mining at a closed-door OECD meeting next month, according to people familiar with the matter. The proposal to cut off the biggest foreign source of public finance for fossil fuels is expected to spark heated negotiations at the OECD’s Paris headquarters. The move builds on a commitment by some OECD countries to align public finance institutions with Paris agreement goals to limit global warming to well below 2C and ideally 1.5C above preindustrial levels. But the effort to end subsidies for foreign projects will draw attention to the prevalence of domestic subsidies for oil and gas industries, even as a global deal to end fossil fuel production without the emissions captured at the upcoming UN COP28 climate summit looks increasingly unlikely. Ending export credit agencies’ provision of loans and guarantees for fossil fuel projects would be “an essential first step to keeping our international climate goals within reach”, said Nina Pušić, an export finance climate strategist at the US environment campaign group Oil Change International.
Uganda crude pipeline nears Sinosure $3bn funding deal
(Argus Media, Cape Town, 3 October 2023) Chinese export credit agency Sinosure is slated to complete talks with Uganda and oil companies TotalEnergies and CNOOC this month to provide $3bn for the country’s crude export pipeline EACOP, after western financiers pulled out due to environmental concerns, Petroleum Authority of Uganda director Ernest Rubondo said today.
India’s Reliance Jio Secures $2 Bn In Largest FY24 Offshore Loan with Finnvera backing
(Business World, Delhi, 3 October 2023) Reliance Jio, Indian telecom giant, has successfully raised nearly USD 2 billion (approximately Rs 16,640 crore), marking India’s largest offshore loan in FY24, as reported by a media house. HSBC played a leading role in arranging this initiative, which is intended to finance the recent purchases of 5G network equipment from Nokia, a Finnish technology company. The report also reveals that Finnish export credit agency Finnvera has provided a similar insurance cover to safeguard Nokia, the supplier of Jio’s 5G equipment and the global lenders associated with the telecommunications company. The inclusion of Finnvera insurance is expected to reduce Jio’s overall funding costs for its 5G equipment. Such arrangements offer greater reassurance to global lenders and major 5G network suppliers involved in substantial deals.
Alignment of US EXIM with US climate and development policy objectives
(Oxfam America, Boston, 16 October 2023) This 51 page study assesses the alignment of the United States Export-Import Bank (EXIM) — the official export credit agency (ECA) of the US — with the country’s climate and development policy objectives derived from relevant Executive Orders (EOs), acts, guidance, and strategic policy documents. Export credit agencies (ECAs) like the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) are government-backed private or public agencies with a mandate to promote national exports through loans, guarantees, and insurance to domestic companies or foreign buyers. EXIM exerts great leverage by reducing the risk of private investments and, consequently, supports the expansion of specific industry sectors such as aircraft, manufacturing, and oil and gas. In developing countries, ECAs often finance large-scale energy infrastructure projects with significant lifetimes that disproportionately benefit carbon-intensive industries, increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (OECD n.d.). In fact, ECAs are the largest category of public finance institutions (PFIs) supporting fossil fuel investments. Between 2019 and 2021, G20 ECAs facilitated transactions amounting to $34 billion per year for fossil fuels, over 90 percent of which were for oil and gas. The share of clean energy transactions in ECA portfolios was considerably lower, with only $4.7 billion per year over the same period.
EXIM Board Unanimously Approves Financing for 3 projects in Romania, Kazakhstan and Iraq
(EXIM, Washington, 22 September 2023) The Board of Directors of EXIM has approved 3 transactions in the energy and transportation sectors. The first transaction a direct loan for more than $57 million to EnergoNuclear S.A. to support pre-construction engineering and feasibility studies for the potential development of two nuclear reactors at the Cernavodă nuclear power plant complex in Romania. The transaction, issued under EXIM’s Engineering Multiplier Program, will support an estimated 200 new jobs in Texas and Illinois. The EXIM Board also approved a $594 million loan guarantee to the national railway of Kazakhstan, KTZ, to support the export of Wabtec locomotive and locomotive shunter kits to KTZ. The transaction will support an estimated 1,500 U.S. jobs. The final transaction approved by the Board was a $240 million guarantee of a loan to the Ministry of Electricity of the Republic of Iraq to finance the export of GE Energy products to support the repair and upgrade of operating gas turbines in ten locations in Iraq. The transaction is estimated to support approximately 500 U.S. jobs across California, Connecticut, Illinois, Ohio, Oregon, Massachusetts, and Nevada. [An aside re Iraq: A recent Brown University study found that the 2003-2011 Iraq war cost the US $2.9 trillion, over 500,000 lives, created 7 million refugees, nearly 8 million displaced persons and a legacy of ISIS like terrorism throughout the world. Pentagon spending since 2001 has totaled over $14 trillion, one-third to one-half of which went to defense contractors.]
