Buyer’s Credit for State-Owned Submarine Cable Corporation of Palau
Supporting Export of Communications Infrastructure Equipment by Japanese Company

• Region: Oceania
• Infrastructures
• Machinery and Equipment
• Export Loans

1. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC; Governor: MAEDA Tadashi) signed on January 13 a buyer's credit (export finance) agreement totaling up to USD4 million (JBIC portion) with Belau Submarine Cable Corporation (BSCC), a state-owned public submarine cable corporation of the Republic of Palau (Palau). The loan is co-financed with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, bringing the total co-financing amount to USD8 million. Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) will provide the insurance for the loan by the private financial institution. JBIC will provide the loan through its Special Operations Account^*1.
     
2. The loan is intended to provide the funds necessary for BSCC to purchase submarine cable-related equipment from NEC Corporation (NEC).
     
3. In November 2018, JBIC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Trilateral Partnership for Infrastructure Investment in the Indo-Pacific^*2 with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC, currently the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)) of the United States of America (the U.S.) and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (Efic, currently Export Finance Australia (EFA)), both of Australia. The MOU aims to realize individual projects undertaken with the cooperation of Japanese, U.S., and Australian companies in third countries within the Indo-Pacific region. In the video message by the foreign ministers of Japan, the U.S., and Australia at the Indo-Pacific Business Forum held in Vietnam in October 2020, it was announced that this project will be the first under the partnership.
     
4. The project will reinforce the communications infrastructure of Palau, an island state in the Indo-Pacific region, thereby contributing to increasing its communication capacity and raising the stability of its international communications. With the improvement of the communications infrastructure, the investment environment of Palau will also improve, which is expected to contribute to promoting investment from overseas, including Japan, and developing the economy of Palau.
     
5. As Japan's policy-based financial institution, JBIC will continue to provide financial support to assist Japanese companies in the export of machinery and equipment and overseas expansion of their businesses by drawing on its various financial facilities and schemes and performing its risk-assuming function.
    

Note

1. *1 
   For information about the Special Operations, see Announcement on October 3, 2016.
2. *2 
   See Press Release on November 12, 2018.