Index for October 2005

Volume 4, Issue 10

  • OECD Export Credit News

    On October 3, 2005, the OECD's Export Credit Group met for the day with representatives of civil society organizations to discuss the work of the Secretariat and of Participants in the Arrangement, and to receive feedback and opinions on issues of concern. The agenda and room documents (working papers) of the consultation are available here- they are also provided below and a summary of the discussions will be available shortly.
        A. Agenda: consultation with civil society organizations - Paris - October 3, 2005 [PDF]
        B. Room documents by organizations other than ECA Watch: OECD ECG CSO consultation - Paris - October 3, 2005 - by BIAC, Transparency International, UNEP, and the OECD
        B. Room documents by organizations other than ECA Watch: OECD ECG CSO consultation - Paris - October 3, 2005 - by BIAC, Transparency International, UNEP, and the OECD
        C. ECA Watch presentations: OECD ECG CSO consultation - Paris - October 3, 2005 by Sakhalin Environment Watch, The Corner House, the Cordillera Peoples Alliance, and others.
        C. ECA Watch presentations: OECD ECG CSO consultation - Paris - October 3, 2005 by Sakhalin Environment Watch, The Corner House, the Cordillera Peoples Alliance, and others.
        D. Will the new OECD Secretary General open ECAs to greater transparency? - OECD Page on the Selection of the new OECD Secretary General
        D. Will the new OECD Secretary General open ECAs to greater transparency? - OECD Page on the Selection of the new OECD Secretary General
    19 Sept. 2005, ECA Watch, Paris: NGOs are beginning to follow the process of selection of the new OECD Secretary General. Six candidates have been nominated and OECD member countries have begun the process of "horse trading" to determine who will succeed Donald Johnston.
        E. Civil aircraft talks continue
    19 Sept. 2005, ECA Watch, Paris: Over 35% of OECD ECAs' mid to long term portfolios cover air transport, giving them a huge investment in passenger aircraft sales and leasing and a stake in the consequent production of greenhouse gases.
  • 4 Feb. 4 2005, IMF Washington: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) prepared a report on ECAs in a changing world which was cited by the OECD ECG Chair as a background reference for their own Oct.3, 2005 consultation, "highlighting the key challenges facing ECAs, including... facilitating financing to low-income countries while helping maintain these countries' debt sustainability...". The IMF's Executive Summary notes that "private sector appetite at present remains limited in certain markets, particularly in long-term credits, very large projects, small- and medium-enterprises, and markets considered as high risk, such as a number of low-income countries. In these circumstances, official export credit agencies may be able to play a useful role by filling in the market gaps, where national and international interests warrant, while continuing to curtail distortionary subsidies under the OECD Arrangement and the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.
  • 2 Oct. 2005, WRI, Washington, The World Resources Institute has challenged OECD based export credit agencies to play a role in meeting the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), and outlines a number of reforms required to both "do no harm" and "do good".
  • 26 Sept. 2005, Business First, Columbus OH USA: A well known U.S. bicycle manufacturer has been acquired by the China Export & Credit Insurance Corp., also known as Sinosure. When Huffy Corp. emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October, some 30 percent of the new shares will be owned by Sinosure, and within five years, Sinosure may own 51 percent of the company. The rest of the company will be owned by unsecured creditors. The U.S. National Labour Committee has documented serious labour abuses in the production of Huffy bicycles.
  • Waste incineration and renewable energy incentives

    19 Oct. 2005, ECA Watch, Paris: In Room Document 1 at its Oct.3, 2005 consultation, the OECD ECG Secretariat asked "are there any other renewable energies sectors which merit consideration for the special incentives under the Arrangement? In Room Document 7, the Business Industry Advisory Council (BIAC) urges the Participants to allow waste power and waste thermal generation to benefit from the new special terms and conditions for "environmentally friendly projects". However, these are very controversial because of fears of incomplete combustion of wastes and therefore toxic emissions. Indeed the U.S. EPA has prohibited construction of new waste thermal generators for 18 months while it reviews safety standards. For more information on these "technologies" see http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/60.html and http://www.zerowasteamerica.org/Incinerators.htm
  • 7 Sept. 2005, Amnesty, London: An ECA (Coface, Ex-Im) supported pipeline transporting oil through Chad and Cameroon brings with it potential threats to human rights in the two Central African countries. Amnesty International is concerned that these threats are more likely to be realised if investment agreements underpinning the pipeline project prejudice the human rights obligations of the states and the human rights responsibilities of the companies involved. Meanwhile, in an October 13-14th meeting in Cameroon, the World Bank was to determine if the Consortium Exxon-Petronas-Chevron, in charge of the project, should be given a completion-certificate, which would mean that the construction phase operation has been carried out in the respect of contract obligations by Esso (Exxon) and its subcontractors, and in compliance with Banks' policies. Cameroonian NGOs claim that over 350 cases of inadequate compensation are still pending.
  • 18 Oct. 2005, Eurodad, Brussels: Nigeria's external debt, mainly owed to ECA's, will be the subject of Paris Club negotiations on October 18th 2005. It appears that only 60% of this debt will be written off, as compared to 80% in the case of Iraq. This raises many questions about the political background to these negotiations, as well as again raising the issue of why ECA created commercial debt from the public purse to oppressive regimes should be converted to official development assistance.
  • Russian banks to form ECA

    10 Oct. 2005, RBC News, Moscow: Russia is proposing to merge Vnesheconombank and Roseximbank into a governmental specialized import and export bank. Meanwhile, HSBC Bank Plc may open a credit line of up to EUR 200 million to Vnesheconombank (VEB) on a security of the leading export credit agencies in Europe. As noted in our August 2005 What's New, environmental organisations have warned that major banks may be contravening their environmental and social policies, which in the case of HSBC includes the Equator Principles, by helping to finance controversial projects indirectly.
  • ECGD continues to review decision to fund Shell for Sakhalin project

    4 Oct. 2005, BBC, UK: A $20bn oil and gas project in Russia (originally $10bn) faces a crucial funding decision amid running concerns over its effect on the endangered western Pacific gray whale. Two stories covered this issue, with both the BBC and All Headline News emphasizing World Wildlife Fund's criticism of Shell.
  • 26 Sept. 2005, Manila Standard, Berlin: Top officials of the Philippine National Police are considering to purchase firearms and equipment from Warsaw, tapping a $140 million export credit line under the Philippines-Poland trade agreement. [Note: 80% of the UK's ECGD export credit portfolio goes to support arms sales.]
  • 15 Oct. 2005, Amis de la Terre, Paris: On May 3, 2005, Friends of the Earth France organized a colloquium on "Public Support for Sustainable Development Exports: How to respond to demands for transparency and coherence?" with Senator Mme Dominique Voynet. For those who read French, the minutes and annexes can be found at the link above.
  • 6 Oct. 2005, Int'l Rivers Network, Berkeley, CA USA: The two biggest public banks in Europe, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), have announced that they will take into account the international standards for dam-building set by the World Commission on Dams (WCD). The World Bank, however, continues to disregard the recommendations of the WCD, despite being one of the Commission’s two original co-sponsors. An EU directive regulating the admission of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) credits into the EU's emissions trading system states: "In the case of hydroelectric power production project activities with a generating capacity exceeding 20MW, Member States shall, when approving such project activities, ensure that relevant international criteria and guidelines, including those contained in the World Commission on Dams year 2000 Final Report, will be respected during the development of such project activities."