Loan for Ship Building Business by Japanese Company in Paraguay
Supporting Overseas Business Deployment of Japanese Mid-Tier Enterprises and SMEs

• Region: Latin America and the Caribbean
• Marine and Aerospace
• Overseas Investment Loans

1. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC; Governor: Hiroshi Watanabe) signed today a loan agreement totaling to USD20 million (JBIC portion) with Tsuneishi Holdings Corporation (Tsuneishi HD; Headquarters: Hiroshima Prefecture; Representative Director, Chairman and President: Yasuharu Fushimi). The loan is cofinanced with The Chugoku Bank, Limited, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, with the overall cofinancing amount reaching USD29 million.
    
2. The loan is intended to finance the shipbuilding business of barges^*1 and pushers^*2 for rivers by Astillero Tsuneishi Paraguay S.A. (ATP) in the Republic of Paraguay (Paraguay), a subsidiary of Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. which is an affiliate of Tsuneishi HD in Paraguay.
    
3. Tsuneishi HD is a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) conducting shipbuilding and shipping operations business globally. In shipbuilding business, the company builds domestically and globally various types of ships centering on bulk carriers. The company plans to expand its shipbuilding and sales business of barges and pushers for rivers in South America through the investment in ATP, while the steady demand for new river barges and pushers is expected to grow in South America's new river barge and pusher market, backed with the increase in the demand for river shipping (transportation) for expanding grain production and iron ore production. Thus, this loan will contribute to maintaining and strengthening the international competitiveness of Japanese industries through support for the overseas business deployment of Tsuneishi HD.
    
4. As Japan's policy-based financial institution, JBIC will continue to financially support overseas business deployment of Japanese companies, including mid-tier enterprises and SMEs, by drawing on its various financial facilities and schemes for structuring projects, and performing its risk-assuming function.
    

Note

1. *1 A barge is a flat-bottomed ship to carry cargo in harbors and inland waterway such as rivers and canals. The ship cannot self- navigate since it does not have an engine.
2. *2 A pusher is a vessel with an engine to push a barge.