ICICI Bank in India gets nod from Ex-Im Bank

ICICI Bank in India gets nod from Ex-Im Bank The Export-Import Bank of the United States last week said it has approved ICICI Bank Ltd. to participate in its Indian Infrastructure Facility established in April 2008 to support U.S. exports for Indian projects.
   ICICI Bank, India's second-largest commercial bank and largest private-sector bank, received a special delegated authority level of $250 million, which increases the total support available under the facility to $2.45 billion. Participating Indian financial institutions provide their guarantees to expedite processing of Ex-Im Bank-backed medium-term and long-term financing for Indian buyers of U.S. exports. Each financial institution has an underlying pre-approved credit line of $50 million to $250 million, and one lender, Power Finance Co., has a pre-approved line of $800 million. Projects eligible for support include power and renewable energy generation, oil and gas development, small aircraft, airport development and health care.
   The other eight Indian financial institutions previously approved for participation in the facility are Power Finance Co., Infrastructure Development Finance Corp., Industrial Development Bank of India, India Infrastructure Finance Co. Ltd., State Bank of India, Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services, India Renewable Energy Development Agency and Punjab National Bank.
   India's Ministry of Finance has estimated that more than $500 billion will be needed to finance development of India's infrastructure. Ex-Im Bank has partnerships with business, government and financial institutions in India to facilitate financing for U.S. exports to Indian projects. Ex-Im Bank is the official export-credit agency of the United States. The independent federal agency, helps to finance the sale of U.S. exports, primarily to emerging markets throughout the world, by providing loan guarantees, export-credit insurance and direct loans.
   In fiscal year 2007, Ex-Im Bank authorized $12.6 billion in financing to support an estimated $16 billion of U.S. exports worldwide. The bank approved more than $1.4 billion in financing for U.S. exports to India in fiscal year 2007, including $500 million for U.S. equipment and services to the Reliance petroleum refinery project.