President Obama Signs Waiver Allowing Ex-Im Bank to Move Forward with Export Financing for Vietnam Communications Satellite

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The White House on Monday issued a Presidential Determination on Vietnam by President Barack Obama.  The president's action clears the way for the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) board of directors to move forward with a $125.8 million direct loan to Vietnam to support their purchase of a U.S.-manufactured telecommunications and television satellite.

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The purchaser is the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group, a wholly state-owned company.

The determination by the president is required by a provision in the Ex-Im Bank Charter that mandates a determination by the president that it is in the national interest for Ex-Im Bank to extend a loan of $50 million or more to a Marxist-Leninist country. 

"I'm pleased that President Obama has given the board the authority to advance this loan application from Vietnam, which is one of the nine countries Ex-Im has identified as offering U.S. exporters the greatest sales opportunities," said Fred P. Hochberg, chairman and president of Ex-Im.  "We hope to support more U.S. companies' exports to Vietnam, which in turn will support more American jobs."

Ex-Im Bank transactions have been eligible for such presidential determinations since President Clinton determined on March 8, 1998 that it was in the national interest for Ex-Im Bank to do business with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

With President Obama's determination, the board will soon vote whether to refer the transaction to Congress for review and comment.  After the expiration of a 35-day comment period the board would schedule a second and final vote.  (Congress is notified of all Ex-Im transactions of $100 million or more so that Members may provide the Bank with comments for the Board to consider prior to a final vote.)

The Lockheed Martin Corporation is supplying U.S. equipment and services for the Vinasat II project.  Ex-Im's loan, if approved by the board of directors, will be secured by the full faith and credit sovereign guarantee of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

The proposed loan of $125.8 million will finance the export of goods and services valued at about $215 million.

About Ex-Im Bank:
Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that helps create and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. In the past five years, Ex-Im Bank has earned for U.S. taxpayers $1.9 billion above the cost of operations. 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.

Ex-Im Bank approved $32.7 billion in total authorizations in FY 2011 -- an all-time Ex-Im record. This total includes more than $6 billion directly supporting small-business export sales -- also an Ex-Im record. Ex-Im Bank's total authorizations are supporting an estimated $41 billion in U.S. export sales and approximately 290,000 American jobs in communities across the country. For more information, visit www.exim.gov.

SOURCE Export-Import Bank of the United States