On November 10, Korea Eximbank, holding the co-chairmanship with the EXIM Bank of Malaysia, participated in the 17th Annual Meeting of the Asian EXIM Banks Forum held in Langkawi, Malaysia.

The Asian EXIM Banks Forum* launched in 1996, has actively promoted inter-institution co-financing, information exchange for large-scale projects, as well as exchange of human resources in order to strengthen economic cooperation among Asian countries.

For the first time since 1999, Forum membership increased after member institutions unanimously agreed to accept Vietnam Development Bank as a Forum member in line with the Membership Protocol. The Membership Protocol was prepared by Korea Eximbank to increase Forum membership.

* The Asian EXIM Banks Forum was initially launched with seven ECA members representing Korea, Japan, Australian, India, China, Thailand, and Malaysia. The Philippines and Indonesia became members in 1998 and 1999, respectively. As such, the Forum is currently comprised of nine regular members and one permanent observer, ADB.

For this most recent Forum, 12 institutions including eight member institutions* attended and discussed strategies under the theme of “Strengthening Co-operation among Asian EXIM Banks in Facilitating Global Trade and Investment,” to stimulate global trade through financing despite uncertainties in the global economy triggered by the recent South European financial crisis.

* Among the nine member institutions, Export-Import Bank of Thailand was absent due to severe flooding in the nation.

During the Forum, Chairman Yong Hwan Kim presented on the topic and stated, “The role of ECAs in each country is more important than ever as Asia’s dynamic growth has fueled infrastructure demand while the investment capacities of financing companies in advanced nations have decreased.”

In order to provide effective financial support for large-scale projects, Chairman Kim suggested three strategies for cooperation including promotion of co-financing, strengthened networks for joint project identification, and more active knowledge sharing.

Mr. Hashim Hassan, Chairman of EXIM Bank of Malaysia stated, “EXIM Bank of Malaysia has co-financed with Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC) in various areas but we must further strengthen inter-institutional cooperation for the finance of large-scale projects, exchange human resources, and effective procurement.

During the Forum, Chairman Kim also met with President Hiroshi Watanabe of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and discussed in-depth the formation of a consultative group of ECAs* in both countries in order to successfully promote mega-scale projects in third world countries.

* Korea Eximbank, K-sure, JBIC, Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI)

Meanwhile, Chairman Gde Erata of Indonesia Eximbank expressed high regard for Korea Eximbank’s accumulated expertise and requested the Bank to accept a secondee in order to share the Bank’s expertise in overseas project financing.

More active exchange of knowledge, expertise, and human resources is anticipated among Asian ECAs in the future.