JBIC’s First Credit Line for Ecuador Government under GREEN Operations
The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC; Governor: Akira Kondoh) signed on February 21 a loan agreement totaling up to USD50 million (of which JBIC’s portion is USD25 million) with the government of Republic of Ecuador (Ecuador). The credit line is cofinanced with Mizuho Bank, Ltd. (lead arranger), the Joyo Bank, Ltd, the Hachijuni Bank, Ltd., and the Bank of Yokohama, Ltd., with JBIC providing a partial guarantee for the confinanced portion.
This is the first loan for JBIC to provide to the government of Ecuador under the “Global action for Reconciling Economic growth and ENvironmental preservation” (“GREEN”) operations*1 and will be used as necessary funds for energy efficiency projects in the country. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB; President: Luis Alberto Moreno) will also provide a similar loan, making it the first cofinancing from JBIC and IDB under the GREEN operations.*2
The government of Ecuador had announced climate actions they intend to take under a new international agreement, ahead of the COP21 agreement held in Paris in 2015. It has been taking vigorous steps to implement measures to cope with climate change, such as setting the goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the country’s energy sector by 20-25% from 2020 onwards, relative to the scenario of unexecuted measures. This loan is expected to contribute to the reduction of GHG emissions through the support of Ecuador’s energy efficiency project while propagating advanced Japanese environmental technologies which have received high international recognition. This is also in line with an initiative announced by the Japanese government in November 2015, “Actions for Cool Earth: ACE 2.0.”
As Japan’s policy-based financial institution, JBIC will continue to support global environmental conservation efforts in cooperation with international organizations, by drawing on its various financial facilities and schemes for structuring projects, and performing its risk-assuming functions.
