(Construction Review Online, Nairobi, 25 August 2021) Financed to the tune of US$ 1.2bn by a consortium of international banks including CDP Bank, Credit Agricole Bank, and BNP Paribas with the Italian Export Credit Agency (SACE) and the Egyptian Ministry of Finance as guarantors, the Middle East Oil Refinery (MIDOR) expansion project is being undertaken by TechnipFMC. When fully completed the facility is expected to increase the production of LPG by 107%, high-octane gasoline by 60%, jet fuel by 145%, and diesel by 45%. These are the equivalent of 280,000 million tonnes (Mt), 1.6Mt, 2.2Mt, and 2.8Mt respectively.
Newsletter
Experts Discuss Russia’s Weak Economic Presence in Africa
(Business Post, Lagos, 24 August 2021) Russia’s weak economic presence in Africa has become a thing of concern for some experts in the country and they wonder why the nation is not aggressive with this like its ally, China. In July 2021, participants at the Association of Economic Cooperation with African States (AECAS), established under the aegis of the Secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum (RAPF), agreed that lack of financial support was the major reason for this. Nikita Gusakov, Head of the Russian Export Credit and Investment Insurance Agency (EXIAR), reiterated that Africa was a priority for the agency. Senator Igor Morozov, a member of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy, and Chairman of the Coordinating Committee on Economic Cooperation with Africa noted during one of the meetings that in conditions of pressure from sanctions, it has become necessary to find new markets, new partners and allies for Russia. “It is important for us to expand and improve competitive government support instruments for business. It is obvious that over the thirty years when Russia left Africa, a number of countries such as China, India, the United States and the European Union have significantly increased their investment opportunities there in the region,” Morozov stressed. With a renewed growing interest in Africa, Russians are feverishly looking for establishing effective ways of entry into the huge continent.
Australian banks defend coal exit
(Global Trade Review, London, 28 July 2021) Australia’s banks have defended their decision to exit the thermal coal sector and pushed back against suggestions from government lawmakers that they be forced to extend financing to fossil fuels. A flurry of exits from thermal coal businesses that began mainly among European banks and export credit agencies has since spread to Asia. Economies such as South Korea and Japan, which are major buyers of Australian coal and natural gas, have now set ambitious carbon reduction targets ahead of the COP26 summit in Glasgow in November. Australia is the world’s largest coal exporter by value, and coal miners are expected to post bumper profits during the full-year reporting season for listed companies in August. The decision has angered lawmakers in the ruling conservative coalition, many of whom represent communities where coal mines and their supply chains are major employers. Submissions to an inquiry on financing for Australian export industries, launched earlier this year by a parliamentary committee on trade and investment and focusing almost exclusively on thermal coal, included suggestions that the government force banks to lend to any business that is operating legally.
Swedish ECAs establish scientific climate council to help align with Paris Agreements
(EKN/SEK, Stockholm, 26 August 2021) The Scientific Climate Council, a group of academic experts, will provide advisory support to EKN and SEK to assist aligning the Swedish export finance system with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal. The climate council is the first of its kind in the world and will focus on issues such as the role of natural gas for the energy transition in low- and middle-income countries. EKN’s and SEK’s climate transition efforts are at the forefront from a global perspective. Stringent requirements are set for projects that receive guarantees and credits and the Swedish export finance system was one of the first to cease export financing the extraction and transportation of coal.
Cost of Hoima-Tanga Pipeline Hits $5b As Risk Averse Supporters Walk Away
(All Africa, Cape Town, 23 August 2021) The withdrawal by risk averse lenders from the East African Crude Oil Pipeline has seen the cost of the project rise by 30 percent to $5 billion, meaning shareholders will be forced to dig deeper into their coffers to fund it. Shareholders of TotalEnergies raised this question during the annual general meeting in May, and company executives confirmed that increase in cost to $5 billion for a fully completed project, of which $2 billion will be financed through shareholders’ equity and $3 billion by external funding.
Last month, the project also suffered another setback after global insurers and export credit agencies, including French multinational AXA, withdrew its support. “The underlying project is not compatible with our climate commitments,” AXA wrote in July, while the UK Export Finance also turned down an application for finance, after the UK government ceased financing fossil fuel projects overseas.
Germany accused of hypocrisy over Arctic gas project
(Sky News, London, 16 July 2021) As deadly flooding ravages parts of Germany, the country’s government is still considering massive investment in a Russian-led gas project known as Arctic LNG II. Germany has been accused of “pure play hypocrisy” for complaining of the impacts of climate change brought by this week’s catastrophic flooding while signalling support for a new gas project in the Arctic. Reuters has reported that France’s Bpifrance, Germany’s Euler Hermes and Italy’s SACE were among the state-backed international lenders considering providing about $9.5 billion in financial support for the project.
Afreximbank plans $8 billion fund to offset trade-pact losses
(Bloomberg, London, 15 July 2021) African nations plan to raise about $8 billion for a fund to help offset revenue losses for countries that lower cross-border tariffs, as part of a continent-wide free-trade agreement. The African Export-Import Bank, or Afreximbank, has already provided $1 billion for the fund after the African Union set it up to help cushion sudden revenue losses and encourage participation. The free-trade area went into effect on Jan. 1. The $1 billion made available by Afreximbank will be used to leverage funding from other multilateral development-finance institutions, export credit agencies, commercial banks and donors. Afreximbank, in collaboration with the African Union, will hold intra-Africa trade fair in South Africa in November to provide access to trade and market information to companies and countries. In addition, it’s planning “face-to-face training workshops’’ in 13 countries from October to build the capacity required to meet trade targets, the lender said.
Export Development Canada Promises Net Zero by 2050
(Globe Newswire, Ottawa, 22 July 2021) Export Development Canada (EDC) is committing to net zero emissions by 2050 across its business lines and in its own global operations. The Crown corporation’s plan will include interim reduction targets for the most carbon intensive sectors for 2023 and 2030, supported by sustainable finance objectives. Meanwhile, EDC may face court action in the not-too-distant future, after a legal opinion commissioned by Oil Change International and several other organizations concluded that national export credit agencies have an international legal obligation to scale back their financing for fossil fuel-related activities. Canadian mining and gas company ReconAfrica is currently exploring for oil and gas in Namibia and Botswana which could become one of the biggest oil finds of the last few decades.
Australian ECA eyes bid for Pacific telecoms to block China
(Nikkei, Sydney, 20 July 2021) The government of Australia looks to support a bid by domestic telecom Telstra to buy a leading South Pacific mobile phone business reportedly eyed by a Chinese suitor, as Canberra works to limit Beijing’s influence in the region. Telstra said Monday it is discussing a purchase of the Pacific operations of Jamaica-based Digicel “in partnership with the Australian government.” The Australian company said any such deal for Digicel Pacific “would be with financial and strategic risk management support from the government.” The government [through Export Finance Australia] would pay for half of the purchase — estimated by local media at 2 billion Australian dollars ($1.47 billion) — with Telstra taking a minority stake if the transaction is completed, Reuters reports. If China acquires the Pacific mobile network, it could monitor Australia’s communications to and from the region and use asset management as leverage noted John Lee, a senior researcher at the University of Sydney.
Ghanaian rail project takes off with Swedish & South African ECA backing
(TFX News, London, 7 JUly 2021) Most recently Ghana’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) signed a landmark €600 million ($712 million) ECA-covered financing deal for the construction of a 100 km section of the country’s Western Railway Line running from Takoradi Port to Huni Valley. Deutsche Bank acted as mandated lead arranger for both loans. The first, backed by EKN and fully arranged by Deutsche Bank, is a €523 million loan covering the bulk of the cost. The second is a €75 million commercial loan arranged and structured by Investec to cover the downpayment on the EKN-backed financing. It is backed by South Africa’s ECIC and funded by a syndicate of Investec Bank, Rand Merchant Bank, Nedbank (London branch) and Sanlam life Insurance. The Western Railway line is key to the haulage of agricultural produce and minerals from the middle belt to Takoradi Port in the south of Ghana. [The corridor is home to key bauxite mines, which are the bedrock of the country’s integrated bauxite aluminium masterplan.] The involvement of EKN and SEK reflects the significant number of Swedish sub-suppliers participating in the project. The engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor for the project is Amandi Investment with Bluebird Finance & Projects acting as lead financial advisor for the EPC. Given South Africa’s expertise and established trade flows in rail projects, Investec and Bluebird Finance & Projects – alongside Amandi, discovered that a multitude of South African rail suppliers could be sourced for this project and in turn reached out to ECIC to support the commercial facility, a first for the South African ECA.
