□ Korea Eximbank(www.koreaexim.go.kr, Chairman & President Yong Hwan Kim) visited Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Egypt from September 16 to 23 as part of efforts to conduct comprehensive marketing activities for government agencies, ordering companies, and financial institutions.

○ The Middle East is Korea’s largest plant market in the world and accounts for 66% of total plant orders won by Korean companies in 2010.

＊ Proportion of orders received from the three countries: UAE 35.8%, Saudi Arabia 14.7%, Egypt 0.5%

□ Korea Eximbank met with 11 major ordering companies including Aramco, ADNOC, EGPC, and DEWA and discussed cooperative measures to expand Korean companies’ participation in new projects.

□ The bank also met with IsDB, an institution representing 56 Muslim countries in the Middle East and North Africa, to discuss measures for co-financing expansion with regard to future projects which will be promoted by Korean companies in and outside of the Middle East. By doing so, the bank anticipates greater utilization of funding in the Middle East for future large-scale projects.

○ Since 2005, Korea Eximbank has jointly supported 13 projects totaling USD 9.5 billion in the region with Middle East funds for petroleum refinery, desalination plant construction, etc. Among these projects, three projects totaling USD 1.4 billion were jointly funded with the IsDB.

□ In addition, the bank concluded MOUs with First Gulf Bank, Mashreq Bank, and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank to actively co-finance projects and lower the rate of local guarantee fees＊for projects guaranteed by Korea Eximbank.

＊ A local bank guarantees project implementation of a Korean company in the Middle East on condition that Korea Eximbank provides a counter guarantee to the local bank.

○ Korea Eximbank also agreed to conclude MOUs with three local banks namely, Riyad Bank, SABB, and National Bank of Abu this year.

□ During the trips, the bank held a series of meetings with Korean companies in Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Egypt to better understand their difficulties in developing regional projects and to increase mutual cooperation for new project orders.

□ An official from Korea Eximbank stated, “Through comprehensive marketing efforts, we established new business networks with local government agencies, ordering companies, and local financial institutions for greater participation by Korean companies in new regional projects and we established a firm foundation for greater utilization of Middle East funds in large-scale projects participated by Korea companies.”