□ The Export-Import Bank of Korea (www.koreaexim.go.kr, Chairman Yoon Hee-sung, “Korea Eximbank"), the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (”DFC“)*, and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (”JBIC“)* joined forces to strengthen financial cooperation aimed at expanding infrastructure collaboration among Korea, the U.S. and Japan.

* DFC (the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation): Established in 2019, it is America’s development finance institution operating under the guidance of the U.S. Department of State. Its mission is to provide loans, insurance, guarantees, and investments to catalyze private sector investments in developing countries.

* JBIC (the Japan Bank of International Cooperation): It is Japan’s export credit agency, supervised by the Ministry of Finance of Japan, and was established in 1950. Its mission is to provide loans, guarantees and investment financing to strengthen Japan’s export competitiveness and develop projects overseas.

□ Korea Eximbank Chairman Yoon Hee-sung met with DFC CEO Scott Nathan and JBIC Senior Managing Director Tanimoto Masayuki, and signed a trilateral MOU titled “MOU for Financial Cooperation to Expand Infrastructure Cooperation among Korea, the U.S., and Japan” at the DFC headquarters in Washington, D.C., the U.S. on August 18. 

□ The key provisions of the MOU include the joint exploration of new projects and the expansion of financial cooperation among the three development finance institutions. These collaborative efforts encompass various areas such as ▲ Infrastructure development, ▲ Carbon neutrality, and ▲ Flexible supply chain management, among others, with a specific focus on the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.

□ The MOU is incorporated within the joint statement of the Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral summit. Following the MOU, the three institutions are poised to strengthen their partnership through collaboration on infrastructure deals.

□ During the signing ceremony, Korea Eximbank Chairman Yoon Hee-sung remarked, “The trilateral MOU with DFC, one of the pivotal development finance institutions* in the U.S., is an extension of the bilateral financial partnership signed in June with JBIC.”

* Development Finance Institution: It refers to a state-owned financial institution which provides development finance in the form of loans, investments, and guarantees to private companies and projects in developing countries with socio-economic importance, that might not otherwise be able to secure private investments.

 ㅇ He added, “With the new partnership with DFC, our role as a development finance institution, as well as our global network, will be further enhanced.”