Japan Bank for International Cooperation
As the date of October 1, 2023, the Act for Partial Amendment of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation Act, which was announced on April 14, 2023, is fully enforced.
Given multiple factors, including changes in the international situation surrounding Japan’s economy, the amendment is intended to enhance supply chain resilience to contribute toward maintaining and improving the international competitiveness of Japanese industries, assist Japanese companies, including startups, in further taking risks, and support the recovery of Ukraine, by enhancing the function of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
Outline of amendment
1. Enhancement of supply chain resilience to contribute toward maintaining and improving the international competitiveness of Japanese industries
As a result of the amendment,
- untied loans are newly available to foreign companies that support Japanese companies’ supply chain and operating bases necessary for their global business activities (*1, 2)
- import loans are newly available for transactions in which overseas Japanese affiliates (including joint ventures) receive materials.
- direct loans to Japanese companies (overseas investment loans) are newly available for overseas business operations which are intended to enhance Japanese companies’ supply chain (*3)
(*1) The assistance is available to foreign companies, which are engaged in the following operations (below is a provisional translation of “Japan Bank for International Cooperation Act Enforcement Regulations”).
| (1) Operations related to “important goods” |
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Of the following operations, those necessary for enhancing the resilience of the supply chain for goods procured by Japanese or Japanese-affiliated companies
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| (2) Operations related to “important technologies” |
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Of the following operations, those necessary for facilitating the provision of technologies utilized by Japanese and Japanese-affiliated companies
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| (3) Operation related to “bases necessary for global business operations” |
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Of the following operations, those necessary for global business activities by Japanese and Japanese-affiliated companies
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(*2) In providing a loan, etc. to a foreign company, JBIC conducts screening for the applicant, from the viewpoint of contributing toward maintaining and strengthening the international competitiveness of Japanese industry, including economic security.
(*3) No amendments were made to the areas in which direct loans to Japanese companies (overseas investment loans) had been available, such as energy and natural resources, mid-tier enterprises and SMEs, M&A activities, etc.
2. Assistance to Japanese companies, including startups, in further taking risks amid growing expectations for such sectors as digitalization and green initiatives
As a result of the amendment,
- the assistance is newly available for equity investments or acquisition of corporate bonds of Japanese startups, mid-tier enterprises, and SMEs engaged in overseas business operations.
- energy and natural resource development, commercialization of new technology and business models, and equity investments in startups are newly included in the Special Operations.
3. Participation in international support for the recovery of Ukraine
As a result of the amendment,
- the guarantees by JBIC are newly available to international financial institutions, which enables JBIC to provide guarantees for loans for the recovery of Ukraine by international financial institutions (*4).
(*4) This operation started on April 15, 2023.