Aug 19, 2011

• Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the BNDES may contract up to US$ 3 billion

On July 21, the BNDES signed an agreement to expand its financial cooperation with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), aiming at supporting Brazil’s and Japan’s projects of mutual interest.

The Memorandum of Understanding provides for contracting, between JBIC and the BNDES, of up to US$ 3 billion. Funding must be invested in infrastructure projects, mainly in the transport sector. The document was signed by the President of the BNDES, Luciano Coutinho, during a seminar on the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC), organized by JBIC in Tokyo.

Since the 1950s, the BNDES has operated in partnership with multilateral bodies and governmental agencies to diversify and expand its funding. The relations between the Brazilian bank and JBIC is about to complete 50 years. The first loan agreement with The Export-Import Bank of Japan (JEXIM), JBIC’s antecessor, dates back to 1962.

Ever since, some 14 agreements have been signed, the latest in March this year, at US$ 300 million for the so-called GREEN Line, earmarked to support projects that are environmentally sustainable. Over this period, JBIC and the BNDES have always sought to develop activities aimed at strengthening their institutional relations.

JBIC was founded in 1999. This is a financial institution wholly controlled by the Japanese government, for which it performs the important role of carrying out economic cooperation policy, supporting the steady and sustainable development of foreign countries and promoting, thus, the consolidation of Japan’s economic relations with the international community.

By signing another cooperation instrument, the BNDES continues its strategy of expanding relations with international financial institutions, expanding the scale of investments made in partnership with multilateral bodies and governmental agencies.