Austria’s export credit agency OeKB is providing cover for a €200mn loan from Germany’s KfW Ipex-Bank to Türk Eximbank, Turkey’s official export credit agency.
Türk Eximbank will use the funds to lend to Turkish companies importing goods from Austria and other countries an OeKB spokesperson tells GTR.
The 10-year loan is structured as a “shopping line”, which borrowers can use to finance imports from various suppliers, without having to negotiate a loan for each individual contract.
OeKB requires that a minimum of half of the goods purchased through the facility must come from Austria, but the funds can also be used for imports from other countries.
“This long-term, strong financial support, which we will offer to our exporters, is also expected to make a significant contribution to the increase of trade relations between Türkiye and Austria,” says Türk Eximbank chief executive Ali Güney.
KfW Ipex-Bank announced the deal on June 27 but both the bank and OeKB declined to disclose the signing date or applicable interest rate when asked by GTR.
“In recent years, Türkiye has developed into an important market for Austria’s export industry and thus also for OeKB, and it continues to offer great potential due to its dynamic development,” says Helmut Bernkopf, an OeKB executive director.
Bernkopf says the deal will help facilitate access to the Turkish market for small and medium-sized exporters.
