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The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC; Governor: Akira Kondoh) signed on March 30 a loan agreement on buyer's credit (export loan) totaling up to USD500 million (JBIC portion) with Kuwait National Petroleum Company K.S.C. (KNPC), which is a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), a state-owned company, and engages in oil refining and other businesses in Kuwait. The loan is cofinanced with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (lead arranger), The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., Mizuho Bank, Ltd., and the Tokyo branch of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC), bringing the total cofinancing amount to USD1 billion. Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) provides insurance for the portion cofinanced by the four private-sector banks.
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KNPC is undertaking / executing a project for enabling production of fuels with low environmental impact, such as fuel with lowered Sulphur content, which comply with European and other environmental standards, by upgrading the Mina Al-Ahmadi and Mina Abdullah refineries operated and managed by KNPC in Al Ahmadi Governorate, Kuwait. A joint venture, in which JGC CORPORATION participates, has received the turnkey order for the upgrading of Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, and JBIC provides part of the funds for this refinery's EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) contract, including export of equipment made by Japanese companies.
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In Kuwait, plans of capital investment and plant construction are being actively developed towards industrial diversification. Through JBIC's support for exporting Japanese-made equipment (process pumps, silencers, compressors, etc.) to be used for upgrading oil refineries, this loan will lead to new business opportunities for Japanese companies in the oil refining sector in Kuwait, as well as contribute to maintaining and strengthening the international competitiveness of Japanese industries.
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As Japan's policy-based financial institution, JBIC will continue to support Japanese companies' export of plant facilities and equipment, as well as their overseas business deployment, by drawing on its various financial facilities and schemes for structuring projects and performing its risk-assuming function.
