Index for August 2005

Volume 4, Issue 9

Volume 4, Issue 8

  • August 9, 2005 (BBC) — Environmental organisations have warned that major banks may be contravening their environmental and social policies by helping to finance controversial projects indirectly.
  • August 10, 2005 (The Post, Zambia) — Equinox Minerals, a Canadian-Australian listed company, is proceeding with a USD $305M investment in a Zambian copper mine with support from South African and Australian ECAs, as well as from a group of international financial institutions and private banks.
  • Some ECA clients get untied credit while renewable energies don't

    August 2005 (ECA Watch, Paris) — Participants in the OECD mediated Arrangement on Export Credits [PDF] refused to approve an increase of local cost financing for southern buyers from 15% to 30% of a project's value for renewable energy projects at their April 2005 meetings. However, the ECGD and other ECAs have for years offered small exporters competing for contracts under £10M more generous rules relating to foreign goods by supporting non-national content of up to 40%. NGOs question why some ECAs can be flexible for some projects yet cannot reach consensus on these conditions for renewable energy local costs, especially since these not only enhance competitiveness as well as sustainable development via technology transfers, but also respond constructively to the upcoming global energy crisis.
  • March 16, 2005 (Source: UK Secretary of State for Trade and Industry) — As a part of its efforts to encourage true "break even" terms of export credits, as required by Article 23 of the OECD mediated Arrangement on Export Credits [and also by the WTO Agreement on Subsidies], the UK's ECGD commissioned a study which showed that the opportunity cost of lost profits on ECGD lending amounts to some £150 million or US$271 million per year. "For the first time anywhere in the world, Government and public have a transparent assessment of the economic cost of providing export credit on a break even basis, and will be able to compare this cost with other forms of industrial support."

  • August 12 , 2005 (Source: Proyecto Gato) — Six Belgian NGOs have issued a statement calling on Ducroire to improve its policies with respect to the OECD Recommendation on Common Approaches on the Environment and Officially Supported Export Credits. A list of recommendations is made in the areas of human rights, transparency, environmental standards, monitoring, no-go zones and sector exclusions, formation of a Compliance Commission, renewable energy incentives, debt impact and anti-corruption practices.
  • July 11, 2005 (Source: US Ex-Im Bank) — The US Ex-Im Bank is now offering export financing on repayment terms of up to 15 years for US exports of goods and services to be used in certain renewable energy and water projects. Effective as of July 1, the longer repayment terms are available in accord with an agreement of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that permits export credit agencies of OECD countries to offer enhanced terms for renewable energy and water projects.