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| ▲ Export-Import Bank of Korea Chairman Yoon Hee-Sung (L) poses with Saudi Aramco Chief Financial Officer Ziad Al-Murshed for a photo at the signing ceremony for a bilateral framework agreement on March, 7, 2023, at the bank's Seoul headquarters, in this photo provided by the bank. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
Eximbank-Aramco-framework agreement
Eximbank signs US$6 bln framework agreement with Saudi Aramco
SEOUL, March 7 (Yonhap) -- The Export-Import Bank of Korea signed a framework deal worth US$6 billion with Saudi Aramco on Tuesday, the state-run policy lender said, a move that could help South Korean companies win contracts in the kingdom.
The three-year deal -- which was inked between Eximbank Chairman Yoon Hee-Sung and Saudi Aramco Chief Financial Officer Ziad Al-Murshed in Seoul -- is a follow-up measure to support a "second Middle East boom," referring to potential business opportunities.
In the 1970s, many Koreans sent home hard-earned cash by working at construction sites in the Middle East, which officials called the first Middle East boom.
Under the framework agreement, the Export-Import Bank of Korea can lend up to $6 billion to Saudi Aramco, which in turn pays South Korean companies involved in projects whose orders were placed by the Saudi Arabian state oil producer.
"The deal could give a big boost to South Korean companies in winning contracts in the Middle East," the South Korean state-run policy lender said.
Of the $6 billion, $1 billion is set aside for the hydrogen and renewable energy deals, the bank said.
The deal came amid expectations of lucrative business opportunities in the kingdom and the Middle East following the November visit to Seoul by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
South Korean companies are seeking to win construction deals in Saudi Arabia's $500 billion project to develop eco-friendly and smart cities in the kingdom's northwestern Tabuk Province.
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