(Big News Network, Berlin, 29 December 2022) Germany announced that it is formally suspending export credits and investment guarantees for business in Iran, after the brutal crackdown on protests by authorities in Tehran. The instruments suspended are export credit guarantees, which protect German companies from losses due to unpaid exports, as well as investment guarantees, which aim to protect direct investments by German companies from political risk. These instruments for projects in Iran were suspended for decades until there was a “short phase of opening” from 2016, as a result of Iran’s agreement with world powers, including Germany, on its nuclear program, the ministry said.
ECAWatch Newsletter 12
Germany accelerates Europe’s “Neo-Scramble for Africa”
(TFI Global News, Noida Uttar Pradesh, 29 December 2023) German-African Business Association: Ever since the Russia-Ukraine war the importance of Africa has skyrocketed. Now every major power today wants to expand their footprint in the continent. Today there is a great surge of foreign interest in Africa. From the US, China, Russia to major European powers like France, UK and Germany, all want a decent share of influence in the African continent. However, are any of the powers actually interested in ensuring the well-being of Africa? The German-African Business Association says that it represents around 85% of German businesses active in Africa. It now wants the government to give greater support through improved conditions for export credit insurance and investment guarantees from the German government.
Fitch affirms SACE now under Italian government control
(Fitch, Milan, 29 November 2022) Fitch Ratings has affirmed that SACE’s shares were transferred back to the national government from Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA (BBB/Stable) in March 2022, changing SACE’s mission from an unregulated export credit insurer to a government agency underwriting insurance policies backed by a state guarantee. The Ministry of Finance [now] retains governance rights over SACE and outlines operational features, according to which SACE operates on behalf of the national government. Fitch expects insurance-related costs to increase in 2023 alongside the macroeconomic volatility triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war and rising commodities prices that could adversely affect Italian export and domestic activities in the short term. SACE’s exposure to Russia, Ukraine and Belarus is limited and was fully covered with EUR91 million provision as of June 2022. As we noted last month, the Italian government is considering support for international fossil fuel projects that would emit 3.5 times Italy’s annual emissions, despite major climate promises. Italy is also considering the nationalization of an oil refinery owned by Russian energy giant Lukoil as well as providing additional guarantees by Italian export credit agency SACE for the purchase of oil outside Russia and selling the refinery to a third-party investor.
Canada to (mostly) stop subsidizing international fossil fuel projects
(Greenpeace, Toronto, 12 December 2022) Canada has joined the growing ranks of nations promising to end international financing of fossil fuels (though there are some worrisome exceptions). The Financial Post immediately warned that without taxpayer subsidies it would be more expensive for private companies to build new fossil fuel projects which… is the whole point of the exercise. The new policy applies across all federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations but will predominantly impact Export Development Canada (EDC), a Crown corporation with a long history of funnelling billions in support to the oil and gas industry. As of January 2023, EDC (and the rest) will have to stop funding (most) fossil fuel projects and redirect those resources to support the clean energy transition.
Russia’s Amur Gas Chemical Complex secures $9.1 bln in ECA & bank loans
(Reuters, Moscow, 8 December 2021) Russia’s Amur Gas Chemical Complex (Amur GCC) has secured $9.1 billion in loans maturing in 2035, Sibur, which co-owns the plant with China’s Sinopec, said in a statement on Wednesday. International banks will provide $2.6 billion for the Amur GCC with coverage from export credit agencies SACE of Italy and Germany’s Euler Hermes, Sibur said, while Chinese and Russian banks will issue the remaining $6.5 billion.
General Electric : Another milestone for Dogger Bank Wind Farm as it reaches financial close for third phase
(Market Screener, Annecy, 2 December 2021) General Electric announced that the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, between 130km and 190km off the north-east coast of England in the North Sea, reached financial close on debt financing for phase C, the third 1.2 GW phase. Upon completion, Dogger Bank is expected to be the world’s largest offshore wind farm with the total number of Haliade-X units to be installed at Dogger Bank reaching 277. GE Energy Financial Services (“GE EFS”) partnered with the co-sponsors to support insurance cover from Bpifrance, which insured a portion of the ECA debt financing. Separate debt facilities structured by the co-sponsors are supported by EKN, the Swedish export credit agency and Export Finance Norway (Eksfin), the Norwegian export credit agency. Dogger Bank C will connect to the grid at Lackenby England.
ECA Watch letter to European Commission re ECAs and corporate social governance
(ECA Watch, Amsterdam, 25 November 2021) The European Commission is working on a proposal for a directive on corporate social governance, which will include a regulation of the human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD) obligations of corporations. We urge the proposed new regulation to become legally binding on the due diligence obligations of ECAs of member states, to make ECAs liable for its implementation and to implement export credit insurance as an enforcement mechanism for the legislation., This directive should oblige ECAs to monitor and follow HREDD policies and would ban companies, that have violated their duties under the directive, from ECA support.
Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 agrees loans worth 9.5 bln euros
(Reuters, Moscow, 30 November 2021) Russian gas producer Novatek (NVTK.MM) said on Tuesday its Arctic LNG 2 plant has signed loan agreements with foreign and Russian banks worth 9.5 billion euros ($10.8 billion), securing necessary external financing for the project. Earlier this year, Novatek shareholders approved external financing of $11 billion for the $21 billion Arctic project, which is expected to start production of liquefied natural gas in 2023. Novatek has had difficulty in securing funds from Europe, wary of political standoff with Russia as well as calls against tapping hydrocarbons in the Arctic amid efforts to tackle climate change. Chinese financial institutions, including the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China, signed credit facility agreements totalling 2.5 billion eurosfor up to 15 years. Financial institutions from the OECD member countries signed credit facility agreements totaling up to 2.5 billion euro. This includes the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and other lenders insured by export credit agencies. Sources told Reuters earlier this month that Italy’s SACE may insure a loan of around 500 million euros for Arctic LNG 2.
Biden orders U.S. to stop financing new carbon-intense projects abroad
(Reuters, Washington, 10 December 2021) The Biden administration has ordered U.S. government agencies to immediately stop financing new carbon-intensive fossil fuel projects overseas and prioritize global collaborations to deploy clean energy technology, according to U.S. diplomatic cables seen by Reuters. However, “This policy is full of exemptions and loopholes that lack clarity, and could render these restrictions on fossil fuel financing completely meaningless,” said Kate DeAngelis, a climate finance expert at Friends of the Earth. FOEUS notees that while the policy states that “infrastructure directly related to the production, transportation, or use of fossil fuels, including oil and natural gas, are considered ‘carbon-intensive international energy engagements,’” it then defines “carbon-intensive” using metrics (i.e., kWh) that appear to only apply to electrical generation (i.e., power plants), not production, transportation, or mid-stream like LNG.
Friends of the Earth sues Britain over Mozambique LNG project
(Reuters, London, 7 December 2021) – A legal challenge by Friends of the Earth against the British government will be heard on Tuesday in the High Court seeking to block a $1.15 billion financing for a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project in Mozambique, the environmental activist group said on Tuesday. Britain’s export credit agency UK Export Finance (UKEF) has committed to provide up to $1.15 billion of direct loans and guarantees to banks to support the design, build and operation of the $20 billion LNG project led by French energy company TotalEnergies. Friends of the Earth said in a statement the project was incorrectly judged to be compatible with the Paris climate agreement, without proper assessment of the development’s climate impacts. A recent report by Friends of the Earth estimated that the project could emit up to 4.5 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases over its lifetime. That is more than the combined annual emissions of all 27 EU countries, according to the authors of the report. The money – a combination of loans and guarantees – comes from the government’s export credit agency, UK Export Finance (UKEF). At an advanced point in the negotiations, UKEF “felt that not agreeing to the loan would be embarrassing to the United Kingdom given its role in the African Development Bank”, FOEUK lawyer Simor told the court. The African Development Bank is co-financing the project, which is led by oil company Total. Mozambique is not only one of the poorest countries in the world, but also one of the most affected by the climate crisis and most vulnerable to its impacts. It is also in the middle of a violent Islamic State-led insurgency.
