Fred P Hochberg, Chairman and President, Ex-Im Bank.
WASHINGTON DC, US: The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has voted to extend a $1.06 billion direct loan and to guarantee a $1.06 billion JP Morgan Chase loan to Reliance Industries of Mumbai, India, for the export of American goods and services destined for use in Reliance’s expansion projects at Jamnagar in the Indian state of Gujarat.
The transaction is the single largest Ex-Im Bank has ever authorized for Reliance, and it represents Reliance’s first attempt at funding through the capital markets with an Ex-Im Bank guaranteed bond issuance. The credit will support approximately 12,300 US jobs, according to bank estimates derived from Departments of Commerce and Labour data and methodology. Moreover, six per cent of the financing is expected to support American small businesses.
Located on the Gulf of Kutch, the Jamnagar complex oversees the largest single-location refinery operation in the world. Reliance intends to increase the complex’s petrochemical output by constructing a petcoke gasification unit that will top the world’s rosters in size and significantly enhance the efficiency of the company’s refinery business. Reliance also plans to erect a refinery off- gas cracker with matching downstream units that will better integrate polymer and polyester production.
“This transaction is a tremendous opportunity for US exporters and US jobs, as revealed by the impressive exporter and job counts. Ex-Im Bank’s financing offsets foreign export-credit-agency competition and provides American exporters with a level playing field. The result is the continued success of American technology and expertise,” said Fred P Hochberg, Chairman and President, Ex-Im Bank.
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