Korea's Eximbank provides $500 mil. for Mozambique gas project
(Korea Times, Seoul, 14 December 2020) The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) said Monday it will provide $500 million (545 billion won) in financial support for a major integrated liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique. The project financing by the state-run lender is aimed at helping Korean companies successfully complete the construction of two LNG plants. The total value of the project is about $23.5 billion. When the project is finished, about 12.9 million tons of LNG will be produced from the plants annually. This amounts to 23 percent of Korea's annual LNG imports. "We expect the project to create 1,300 new jobs annually and promote foreign exchange earnings," an official from the lender said. The Korean construction and equipment manufacturers taking part in the project plan to invest $550 million in the five-year project. Eximbank also said it expects two Korean shipbuilders ― Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries ― to win orders for 17 LNG ships, though contract negotiations are still underway. This is not the first Korean Exim's project in Mozambique. A group of eight export credit agencies have joined the project across the globe. They include Eximbank, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and SACE from Italy. The project has exposed workers to Covid-19 and created a natural resource curse in Mozambique where export credit agencies have supported hugh MNC oil and gas developments.