Sace, Italy’s export credit agency, has approved a guarantee on a US$808mn loan to Tecnimont to build a dehydrogenation plant for the Russian petrochemicals company Sibur.
The US$2bn loan to cover the entire project at the Tolbosk site, Siberia, will be paid through the bank for development and foreign economic affairs of the Russian Federation, VEB Vnesheconombank (VEB).
Alessandra Ricci, deputy head of export credit and structured finance at Sace, tells GTR: “It is a landmark transaction which confirms the continuous support of Sace in enhancing the competitiveness of Italian companies in strategic countries, as Russia is, and concurrently strengthens our relationship with VEB.”
The transaction follows the cooperation agreement between Sace, Tecnimont and VEB that was signed last December during the Italo-Russian intergovernmental summit in Rome.
By the end of 2009, Sace’s exposure to Russia stood at €4.4bn (US$6bn), with metallurgy, banks, oil, gas and chemicals-petrochemicals amongst the sectors benefitting most from Sace’s support in Russia.
Last Updated March 15, 2010
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