New CEO at Korea Eximbank

The bank plans to extend 28 tln in trade credit this year, forge broader ties with MDBs

Chairman and President Yang Chon-shik of the Korea Eximbank who was recently installed in the position said this year is the significant one for the bank celebrating its 30th year anniversary.
He said the bank backed up the development of the country's shipbuilding and capital goods industries, along with heavy and chemical industries up until 1980s from the time the bank first launched its operation.
The bank also played a role of managing the Economic Development Cooperation Fund for the government to provide loans to developing countries in support their economic development.
Until the mid-1990s, the bank provided financial support to the growth of plant and machinery exporters and SMEs. The eximbank also administered the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund entrusted by the government.
From the mid-1990s and until 2002, the bank worked hard to provide support in many areas including the admission of Korea to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD),
overcoming the foreign exchange crisis and other economic problems by with the bank's flexible loan policies. The bank procured foreign exchange necessary to cope with the foreign exchange crisis and played a role in making the financial market stable during the financial crisis.
So far this year, the bank has dished out 6.981,4 trillion won in loans, 43.6 percent of the 16 trillion won allocated for loans for this year. 5.512,3 trillion won went to finance exports including 735.3 billion won to finance exports of ships, 629.1 billion won to finance exports of plants and 4.147,9 trillion won to finance exports of machinery and others during the Jan.-May period this year. Total loans provided during the first five months of this year amounted to 12.202,1 trillion won, up 24 percent from the same period last year.
The bank's paid-in capital increased significantly to 3.3 trillion won last year through government capital injection, which in turn allowed for a greater lending capacity of the bank. The revision of the Export-Import Bank of Korea Act enabled the bank's future equity participation in overseas projects. The bank has become the first domestic bank to introduce export factoring services to effectively support non-L/C based export transactions of Korean firms.
Under the Medium-term EDCF Strategic Management Plan, the bank launched country programs designed specifically for highest priority countries with a view to providing these countries with EDCF loans annually based on medium-term aid targets. Moreover, bilateral policy dialogues were to be facilitated to identify and meet the diverse development needs of recipient countries. The EDCF's relationship with Multilateral Development Banks(MBDs) was further strengthened through co-financing development projects with MDBs.
The IKCF operations also expanded during this year, with higher levels of financial assistance and infrastructure construction projects, such as food and fertilizer aid, railroad construction and the development of the Gaesung Industrial Complex.
The bank continues to forge closer business relationships with global business partners during the year by concluding comprehensive cooperation agreements with major MDBs, such as the Inter-American Development Bank, Asian Development Bank and African Development Bank.
In 2006, the bank plans to extend 28 trillion won of trade credit, which surpasses twice the amount reached just five years ago. To achieve this operational target, the bank will place greater emphasis on financial support for exports of industrial plants, engineering and IT to the Middle East and BRICs countries, while actively providing innovative and specially-structured financial services for the benefit of the bank's clients.
The new chairman and president Yang was vice chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission and is an expert on international finance having served various positions during his career with the Finance and Economy Ministry. He served as the presidential secretary in charge of financial affairs at Cheong Wa Dae. nw

New Chairman and President Yang Chon-shik of the Korea Eximbank