Makes his second overseas finance marketing tour, to Poland and Greece, since he took office
Korea Eximbank Chairman Bang Moon-kyu poses with Chairperson Maria Angelicoussis of Angelicoussis Group after they signed a "financial agreement¡± at Greece¡¯s largest shipping company in Athens, on Oct. 8. (Photo: Korea Eximbank)
The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) has conducted overseas shipping finance marketing in Greece to expand orders for Korean shipbuilders.
Korea Eximbank Chairman Bang Moon-kyu met Chairperson Maria Angelicoussis at the headquarters of Angelicoussis Group, Greece¡¯s largest shipping company, in Athens, on Oct. 8, and signed a financial agreement calling for Korea Eximbank to provide shipowner financing if Angelicus orders large ships from Korean shipbuilders in the future.
The agreement signed by the two agencies also includes a finance provision by Korea Eximbank when Korean shipbuilders win orders for eco-friendly ships such as heterogeneous fuel and ammonia propulsion ships, to be ordered by Angelicus over the next three years.
Korean shipbuilders applied the world¡¯s first LNG DF (duel fuel) propulsion system to merchant ships, and used heterogeneous fuels (diesel, LNG) to drastically reduce pollutants.
Greece is the world¡¯s largest shipping power and owns about 50 percent of all EU ships, and about 20 percent of world ships.
Currently, about 20 percent, or $12.9 billion, of the total order balance ($66.1 billion) of Korean shipbuilders was ordered by Greece.
In particular, as a number of Greek shipping companies are expected to participate in Qatar¡¯s Qatar Petroleum (QP) bidding project for LNG carriers in November, Korea Eximbank¡¯s expression of willingness to provide financial support is expected to greatly contribute to the expansion of orders for Korean shipbuilders.
Qatar QP is expected to start ordering up to 100 LNG carriers sequentially soon, with a total of 23 trillion won in terms of amount.
¡°Greece¡¯s Angelicoussis Group is an important partner of Korea Eximbank and the Korean shipbuilding company,¡± Chairman Bang said at the signing ceremony. ¡°We expect Korean shipbuilders to expand orders by using various financial tools of Korea Eximbank.¡±
On the same day, Chairman Bang also met with Maritime Minister Loannis Plakiotakis at the Greek government building to discuss ways to cooperate, including strengthening the shipping and shipbuilding networks between the two countries.
In particular, Korea Eximbank expressed its willingness to actively support LNG carriers, LPG ships, and tankers, which are technology-intensive and high value-added ships that South Korea orders to maintain the super gap with its rival China.
Chairman Bang said at the meeting, ¡°It is expected that Greek shipping companies will be able to respond to the EU¡¯s climate response bill package as Korean shipbuilders can provide eco-friendly and smart ships incorporating cutting-edge technologies.¡±
The European Commission adopted a series of legislative proposals calling for targets to reduce carbon emissions by 55 percent compared to 1990 by 2030.
Meanwhile, Chairman Bang met with Nikolas Martinos, vice chairman of the Greek Shipowner Association, on Oct. 9, and discussed the recent trends in ship orders around the world. He asked for full support from the association for Korean shipbuilders.
Korea Eximbank Succeeds in Issuing $2 Billion Global Green Bonds
Korea Eximbank successfully issued a total of $2 billion worth of global bonds to investors around the world, the bank said on Oct. 13. Korea Eximbank issued an 850-million-euro bond with a three-year maturity on Oct. 11.
The following day, the financial institution issued $1 billion bonds with a seven-year maturity.
The money raised from the issuance of the bonds will be used for supporting Korean companies¡¯ participation in Korean Green New Deal Initiative of renewable energies.