Deputy President Kang Seung-joong of Korea Eximbank, 2nd L,shakes hands with Soe Win, Myanmar's Minister for Planning and Finance after signing an agreement to grant an EDCF loan of $160 million to Myanmar during President Moon Jae-in's state visit to the S.E. Asian country on Sept. 3.

South Korea’s state-run export credit provider Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) has agreed to extend a $160 million loan to help Myanmar set up an e-government data center and a joint industrial complex.

Kang Seung-joong, deputy president of Korea Eximbank, signed economic cooperation development fund agreements worth $160 million with Soe Win, Myanmar’s Minister for Planning and Finance, on Sept. 3 during Korean President Moon Jae-in’s state visit to the country.

This is part of a $1 billion financial assistance plan the Korean government on the same day pledged to Myanmar from 2018 to 2022. Seoul expects the latest agreements with Myanmar to help Korean companies make deeper inroads into the Southeast Asian country’s infrastructure and information and communication technology markets.

Korea Eximbank is granting a $94 million loan to help Myanmar establish an e-government integrated data center, a project pursued by the Myanmar government to bring transparency and efficiency to its administrative affairs as part of its national economic development initiative.

Another $62 million is for the industrial complex to be built in Myanmar by Korea Land & Housing Corp. and Myanmar’s construction ministry. The money will go to installing roads, electricity grids and water utilities near the complex. Myanmar expects the joint industrial site to help bring new jobs, draw foreign investment and promote Korean business activities in the country.

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) announced a few years ago that it extended $183 million (214.57 billion won) in Economic Development Cooperation Fund (ECDF) loans to the “Korea-Myanmar Friendship Bridge Project and Myanma Railways Modernization Project” led by the Myanmar government.

The EDCF is a bilateral official development assistance (ODA) loan program, which was established by the Korean government in 1987. The low-rate EDCF loans given to developing countries are to help emerging countries stand on their own feet in terms of industrial development and economic stabilization. It is also to promote economic interchange with Korea.

Korea Eximbank Chairman and President Lee Duk-hoon signed the EDCF-based construction deal with Myanmar’s Deputy Minister of Construction Win Myint and Deputy Minister of Rail Transportation Myint Thein in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, on Nov. 16 to provide $138 million (161.81 billion won) to the Korea-Myanmar Friendship Bridge Project and $45 million (52.76 billion won) to the Myanmar Railways Modernization Project.

The railways modernization project seeks to improve the safety of railroad transportation and use environment in Myanmar by replacing 100 old passenger cars, and supplying equipment and materials to rail yards.

The EDCF provides low-interest and long-term credit to developing countries for projects seeking to promote industrialization and economic stability. In some cases, Korean companies are involved in such projects directly or through exports. More information on the Fund can be found on the official website or the “Guide to the Import-Export Bank of Korea” publication.

The GTA includes state guarantees and other financial incentives that are likely to affect the restructuring and performance of firms facing international competition, whether from imports, in export markets and from foreign subsidiaries.

A view of the building in Yeouido, Seoul, where the Kerea Eximbank is located. (Photos: Kerea Eximbank)