Japan Bank News

- Atlantic Gulf & Pacific Company (AG&P) said on Monday its Philippines subsidiary has received the green light to develop a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import and regasification terminal in Batangas Bay, south of Manila.The firm, part owned by Osaka Gas and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, said the Philippines' energy department has issued it a notice to proceed to develop the terminal, known as Philippines LNG, which will provide the fuel to power plant, industrial…

Alaska-based Qilak LNG announced that a Heads of Agreement (HOA) has been entered into with ExxonMobil Alaska Production regarding the potential supply of natural gas from the Point Thomson field to Qilak LNG's proposed Alaska North Slope liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project (Qilak LNG 1 Project).According to the Lloyds Energy company, which was formed to identify and develop Arctic LNG projects in North America,  the he HOA foresees ExxonMobil providing at least 560 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of natural gas to Phase 1 of the Qilak LNG 1 Project, based on the design concept of offshore liquefaction and loading…

Russia’s largest independent natural gas producer and LNG project operator Novatek has formed ties with Japan's shipper Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to collaborate on liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects.The three companies will implement projects for construction of a marine LNG transshipment complexes in Kamchatka Territory and Murmansk Region, including possible acquisition of participation interest in projects and potential financing of projects.“We have already started successful cooperation with Japanese companies in large LNG projects, including Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 2, and, accordingly…

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has announced that the company has signed deals for construction of a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), FSRU services, and financing for the Jawa 1 Gas-Fired Project, through PT Jawa Satu Regas (JSR), a joint company of PT Pertamina (Persero), Marubeni Corporation, and Sojitz Corporation etc.MOL is entrusted with FSRU construction supervision, maintenance, and operation services.In this project, PT Jawa Satu Power(JSP), jointly established by Pertamina, Marubeni, and Sojitz, will build, own, and operate a gas-fired power plant with a generating capacity of 1,760MW in Indonesia's West Java province while JSR will build…

Japan's largest trading company  Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) announced the divestment of shares in Diamond Green Limited, with 30% to be transferred to The Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc (KEPCO) and 20% to Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance Company Limited (MUL).Diamond Green is an intermediate holding company wholly owned by Diamond Generating Europe, which itself is a wholly owned subsidiary of MC based in the UK. DGE has been MC’s executing arm for the Moray East Offshore Windfarm Project located in the North Sea, 22 km off the coast of Scotland.With this transaction, KEPCO and MUL now join Moray East Offshore Windfarm’s existing shareholders DGE…

Indonesia's state owned energy holding company, Pertamina, has decided not to go ahead with what would have been the country's second land-based receiving terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG), its chief executive said on Monday.Indonesia has forecast sharp increases in gas demand after 2020, but increases in domestic consumption of the super-cooled fuel have been hampered by an abundance of cheap coal and sluggish development of gas infrastructure."Today we are not going ahead, because it is not yet feasible to continue," Pertamina acting CEO Nicke Widyawati told reporters, referring to the project that would have been built in Bojonegara…

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) will provide a total of $28.3 million in syndicated loans with French bank BNP Paribas to help a major Danish shipping operator’s unit buy cargo vessels to be built by leading Japanese shipbuilder Imabari Shipbuilding, Jiji Press  reported. The state-owned JBIC aims to revive the domestic regional economies relying on the shipbuilding industry by giving financial support for vessel exports at a time when the industry faces a global slump due to oversupply, the report quoted informed sources as saying. According to the report, under the export deal brokered by Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co.…

The five international financial institutions partially financing the Panama Canal Expansion Program traveled to Panama earlier this week to see the 96.6 percent progress made thus far. During their three-day visit to the Canal, representatives were guided through the Agua Clara and Cocoli locks, as well as the fourth phase of the Pacific Access Channel (PAC-4). They also toured the Canal’s training centers: the Center for Simulation, Research and Maritime Development (SIDMAR) and the new Scale Model Maneuvering Training Facility, which will train pilots and other waterway personnel to maneuver through the Expanded Canal. In addition, they visited the construction site of the third Panama Canal bridge, which will connect Colon to communities west of the Canal.

Enseada Shipbuilding was established to build deepwater drillships for Petrobras. Seventy percent of the company is owned by a consortium composed of Brazilian companies, Odebrecht (50 percent), OAS (25 percent), UTC (25 percent), with the remaining 30 percent belonging to Japanese shipbuilding giant, Kawasaki Heavy Industry (KHI). With all the Brazilian shareholders involved in the Car Wash “Lava Jato” operation, investigating corruption and embezzlement schemes with Petrobras, Kawasaki is a key partner, as is it not only responsible for technology transfer and providing professional training for the local workforce and operational consultancy in several areas within the shipbuilding process, as it also offers credibility to the shipyard.

A Panama Canal delegation headed by Administrator Jorge L. Quijano visited Japan to hold discussions with the Japan Shipowners’ Association (JSA) and the major Japanese shipping lines, as well as end customers such as Japanese car manufacturers and energy sector companies. “The Panama Canal strives to have face-to-face meetings with our customer base,” Quijano said. Japan is among the top five user nations of the Panama Canal, as a major importer of grains from the U.S. Gulf Coast and exporter of vehicles to the North American consumer market.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe touted the success of his economic policies on a visit to Brazil on Friday and said it was time for the two nations to expand their trade and investment partnership. On the first visit to Brazil in a decade by a Japanese prime minister, Japanese banks extended $700 million in loans to boost Brazilian soy and corn exports to Japan and build ship platforms for Brazil's burgeoning offshore oil industry. Abe told Brazilian business leaders that Japan has closed a 15-year deflation cycle since his stimulus policies began to kick in and there is great potential to expand trade and investment with Latin America's biggest economy. "With Japan growing again, we can grow with other nations," he said in comments to executives translated by an interpreter.

Japan's Mitsubishi Corp and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have acquired a 38.4 percent stake in water and wastewater project developer Metito Holdings for an undisclosed sum, the United Arab Emirates-based firm said. In addition, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation will provide up to $92 million in funds to Metito to help finance its expansion plans. Japanese firms' global network and expertise will help Metito develop its operations, said Metito chief executive Rami Ghandour. "We have outgrown the region and we need to position ourselves for the next stage of our growth," Ghandour said in a telephone interview. While Metito could look to bid for projects in collaboration with its new stakeholders…

Representatives from the multilateral institutions financing the Panama Canal Expansion Program visited today the new locks project construction in the Pacific side as part of their regularly scheduled visits. Experts from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), International Financing Corporation (IFC) and the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) participated in meetings for two days and visited the Expansion Program construction site. ACP executives made a comprehensive presentation of the current status of the project, including details of the work stoppage by Grupo Unidos por el Canal, S.A. (GUPC), the new locks project contractor.

The lines of credit are for Petrobras to purchase equipment & services from Japanese companies in Brazil & abroad, based on an earlier MOU that established a strategic partnership between JBIC and Petrobras. Petrobras has signed two financing programs with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation - JBIC for the offer of two lines of credit amounting to US$ 1.5 billion. Mizuho Bank, Ltd. is the agent bank for these programs and the lines of credit will be 60% financed by JBIC and 40% by private Japanese financial institutions, which are insured by Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI). Petrobras say that they have built up a close cooperative relationshiop over many years with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, with a number of joint operations already implemented.

President of Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Luis Alberto Moreno, visits the construction site of the new locks in Colon province. The new locks, situated on the Atlantic side, were visited by Moreno, accompanied by IDB delegates, who are in Panama to participate in the Fifty-Fourth Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors which takes place from March 14 to 17, 2013. During the visit, Panama Canal Administrator Jorge Luis Quijano presented an update on the progress of the Expansion Program.

Representatives from the five multilateral institutions that have signed agreements for the financing of the Panama Canal Expansion Program took part in the annual visit organized to oversee the program’s progress. “This visit is part of the agreement signed between the Panama Canal Authority and the five institutions that have provided partial financing for the Expansion Program,” Panama Canal Administrator Jorge L. Quijano said at the end of the tour. The delegation included experts from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)…

First Financing Arrangement of its kind between a Greece-Based Shipping Company and Japanese Governmental Financial Institutions Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE: SB), an international provider of marine drybulk transportation services, announced today that it has entered into three credit agreements with Japanese governmental financial institutions amounting to US $122.4 million to finance the acquisition of three Japanese Post-Panamax class newbuild vessels. The previously-announced…

On December 9, Panamanian President Martín Torrijos and Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Administrator/CEO Alberto Alemán Zubieta signed a $2.3b agreement with leaders from five multilateral and development agencies to finance the waterway’s most historic project to date: expansion. In an official ceremony held at Panama’s Ascanio Arosemena Auditorium, Mr. Alemán Zubieta and top executives from the five agencies signed the agreement to officiate the financing package, which will cover a portion of the $5.25b Canal Expansion Program.

Panamanian President Martín Torrijos announced the final financing structure for the historic Panama Canal Expansion Program. Five major multilateral agencies from Europe, Asia and offered to finance the Canal expansion project. The Panama Canal Authority, after months of extensive negotiations, has accepted the banks’ offers. The $2.3 billion financing package will cover a portion of the $5.25 billion total cost of the project. Financing agencies are the European Investment Bank (EIB)…

After presenting the Expansion Program at key financial centers around the world, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) hosted a two-day workshop on the waterway's expansion financing in Panama this week. Amid a packed room at the ACP training center, some of the best known global multilateral development banks attended a workshop, held December 11-12, to gain more insight on the project and the ACP's desire to finance a portion of expansion. ACP Administrator/CEO Alberto Alemán Zubieta opened the forum with welcome remarks, and senior ACP officials answered questions and conducted presentations outlining various aspects of the expansion. Discussion topics included: market and economic trends, risk management, dredging requirements, workforce development and availability, and the environment.

After presenting the Expansion Program at key financial centers around the world, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) hosted a two-day workshop on the waterway’s expansion financing in Panama this week. Amid a packed room at the ACP training center, some of the best known global multilateral development banks attended a workshop, held December 11-12, to gain more insight on the project and the ACP’s desire to finance a portion of expansion. ACP Administrator/CEO Alberto Alemán Zubieta opened the forum with welcome remarks, and senior ACP officials answered questions and conducted presentations outlining various aspects of the expansion. Discussion topics included: market and economic trends, risk management, dredging requirements, workforce development and availability, and the environment.

According to Asia Pulse, as part of its effort to become one of the leading naval educational institutions, the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA) recently met with officials of South Korean giant Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction (HHIC) (KSE:003480) for the inclusion of Naval Architecture and related disciplines to its roster of courses. Construction is underway for shipyard located in Sitio Agusuhin, which is adjacent to the Subic Bay Freeport. The project, which is seen as a fitting statement showing the strong relationship between the Philippines and South Korea, complements the ongoing construction of the new container port under the Subic Port Development Project…

Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Board Chairman and Concurrent Minister of Canal Affairs Dr. Ricaurte Vásquez Morales spoke at a private-sector forum hosted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) in Tokyo, Japan last Friday, September 22. Dr. Vásquez briefed forum participants on the Panama Canal expansion proposal, as well as highlighted investment and business opportunities in the areas of infrastructure, multi-modal transportation, information technology and logistics. The forum was designed to strengthen and develop partnerships between business leaders in Latin America and the Caribbean with their counterparts in Japan and other East Asian countries.