Ex-Im Bank Signs $1 Billion MOU with Philippine Department of Energy

WASHINGTON, March 21, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Patricia Loui, board of director for the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank), and Raul B. Aguilos, undersecretary for the Department of Energy (DOE) of the Republic of the Philippines, signed a $1 billion memorandum of understanding (MOU) at a ceremony in Manila Wednesday.

"The agreement will channel much needed support to the Philippines from the American private sector and thereby boost jobs here at home," said Export-Import Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. "The arrangement is a win-win for both our nations and evidences our deep ties and cooperation on numerous economic fronts." 

According to the MOU, Ex-Im Bank and the DOE will exchange information with an eye to matching development needs in the Philippines with innovative goods and services offered by American exporters.

More specifically, the MOU targets renewable-energy and LNG projects in the hopes of upgrading and expanding the Philippine energy supply in the wake of Typhoon Yolanda.

"Since 1993, Ex-Im Bank has provided $1.3 billion in energy-sector finance to the Philippines, but we aim to outdo ourselves and target another billion with this memorandum of understanding," said Director Loui. "Our expertise can contribute both to the renovation of current energy-production facilities and the construction of new ones." 

In 1994, Ex-Im Bank financed the first project-finance transactions in the Philippines for geothermal energy: Cebu Geothermal for $170 million, and Mahanagdong Geothermal project for $211 million.

ABOUT EX-IM BANK:

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that creates and maintains U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working-capital guarantees, export-credit insurance and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services. In the past fiscal year alone, Ex-Im Bank earned for U.S. taxpayers more than $1 billion above the cost of operations.

In FY 2013, Ex-Im Bank approved more than $27 billion in total authorizations to support an estimated $37.4 billion in U.S. export sales and approximately 205,000 American jobs in communities across the country. For the year, the Bank approved a record 3,413 transactions-- or 89 percent--for small-businesses. Small business exporters can learn about how Ex-Im Bank products can help them increase foreign sales at http://go.usa.gov/ZVTd. For other information about Ex-Im, visit www.exim.gov.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110414/MM83673LOGO

SOURCE Export-Import Bank of the United States