Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
Eximbank signs MOU with KfW IPEX-Bank on strategic tech, supply chain
Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) Chairman and CEO Yoon Hee-Sung, left, stands next to Dr. Velibor Marjanovic, a board member of KfW IPEX-Bank, after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at KfW IPEX-Bank headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, local time. Courtesy of Eximbank
By Anna J. Park
The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) announced Thursday that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with KfW IPEX-Bank, pledging mutual cooperation for future strategic technology and joint responses on supply chain issues.
KfW IPEX-Bank is a subsidiary fully funded by KfW Development Bank, which is owned by the Federal Government of Germany. The bank provides support for German and European companies' international projects and export financing.
Eximbank said that Yoon Hee-sung, the state-run bank's chairman and CEO, signed the MOU with Dr. Velibor Marjanovic, a member of the German bank's board of directors, at the headquarters of KfW IPEX-Bank in Frankfurt on Wednesday, local time.
By signing the MOU, the two institutions agreed to explore joint projects in the areas of advanced industries, decarbonization and core supply chains, and to jointly provide financial support.
With the MOU signing, Korean companies are expected to find overseas financial support with more ease, when they pursue business projects related to electric vehicles, secondary batteries and advanced technology projects such as renewable energy, hydrogen and eco-friendly ships.
Yoon said the MOU could help contribute to Korean companies' enhanced competitiveness in cutting-edge industries.
"Eximbank has established a solid collaborational foundation with KfW IPEX-Bank, which provides policy support in Europe for infrastructure investments and advanced industries like decarbonization," he said.
The chairman added that the Korean bank will fully support future strategic technology cooperation and joint supply chain responses between Korea and Germany, based on the bank's global networks.
Marjanovic also said the MOU is expected to accelerate joint projects in the advanced strategic industries among Korean, German and European companies.
"Eximbank is a reliable policy finance institution that financial institutions of Germany and European countries hope to collaborate with in various fields," Marjanovic said.
"Projects in core mineral supply chains and strategic technology fields, such as renewable energy and hydrogen, jointly pursued by Korean, German, and European companies, are expected to have more momentum in the future."