On Nov. 22, Korea Eximbank (www.koreaexim.go.kr, Chairman & President Yong Hwan Kim) and the British law firm of Allen & Overy co-hosted a seminar for public-private partnership (PPP) projects in Asian emerging countries.

* Allen & Overy: a global law firm specializing in project finance with over 5,500 employees in 27 countries as of December 2010.

The seminar was attended by 200 representatives in overseas project development from 75 companies and institutions ranging from construction/engineering, general trading, government-owned, to investment banking. Leading specialists from Korea Eximbank, Allen & Overy, and Macquarie ELW participated as speakers and discussed in depth about the current state of PPP projects in Asian countries, legal and institutional conditions, and tailored strategies for success such as measures for reducing project risks.

Thanks to increasing infrastructure demand in Asia’s emerging countries and the active support of respective governments, there has been a surge in PPP projects recently.

In line with this trend, the seminar was held to provide Asian countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines with information relevant to PPP projects such as their state of progress, local regulations and tax systems, and government support measures.

Executive Director Ki-Sub Nam stated in his opening speech, “Asian countries are competitively promoting PPP projects because funding from national budgets alone cannot meet the needs of increasing infrastructure demand. Korea Eximbank will do its best to support PPP project contracts secured by Korean companies through various financing tools such as co-financing with international organizations, including the ADB and IFC, as well as mixed credits with EDCF.”

Participating representatives of overseas plant engineering companies shared the view that, “Although Korean companies have been successful in Middle Eastern plant markets, profitability is continuing to decrease due to excessive competition. Under such circumstances, PPP markets of emerging countries in Asia represent the next blue ocean for Korean companies.”

Since 2007, Korea Eximbank has provided a total of USD 4.3 billion in project financing for 12 large-scale overseas PPP projects including USD 620 million for the Mong Duong 2 Power Project, the first coal-fired PPP project in Vietnam, and USD 240 million for the Indonesia Cirebon Coal Fired Steam Power Plant Project.

Meanwhile, in order to effectively support identification of overseas projects by Korean companies, the Bank established the Investment Banking Office in July 2011 to provide comprehensive marketing services and seminars for major emerging markets.