Ex-Im Bank supports ag equipment exports to China

   The U.S. Export-Import Bank will back comprehensive guarantees for two HSBC loans totaling $55.6 million to support the export of American aircraft and agricultural machinery to China.
   The authorizations mark the 19th and 20th transactions, respectively, registered under the 2005 Framework between Ex-Im Bank and China’s Ministry of Finance to promote U.S. exports to China.
   Included in the sale are four sprayers, 10 tractors, 70 combines, four Robinson helicopters, six Air Tractor crop dusters, and 20 Thrush crop dusters. The end user, state-owned Beidahuang Group of Harbin, China, will use the equipment on its farms in northeastern China.
   Thrush Aircraft, one of the manufacturers involved in the transaction, is a small business based in Albany, Ga., that sells aircraft for an assortment of agricultural-spraying activities. Among other things, the aircraft figure prominently in fire control; pest, weed, and disease control; and the sowing of rice and shrimp feeding.
   “I’m not exaggerating when I say this deal simply would not have been possible without Ex-Im banking behind it,” said Payne Hughes, president of Thrush Aircraft, in a statement.
   Ekpac China Inc., a subsidiary of Ekpac International Ltd., acts as a consolidating exporter for Ex-Im Bank’s China Framework transactions and participated in both sales. The company’s parent represents suppliers and manufacturers in the United States and throughout the world and helps them market and distribute their goods.
   “These transactions are two of the biggest single projects financed in China under the U.S.-China Framework Agreement, and they will create new manufacturing jobs and will set an example for a number of ongoing projects in China,” said Alvin Chan, chief executive officer of Ekpac China. “There will be significant growth in the number and amount of transactions under the Ex-Im Bank guarantee in China in the coming years, and this will surely increase manufacturing jobs in the U.S.
   “Accordingly, Ekpac will need to increase its headcount as well as its employment of professional legal and accounting firms, in order to handle the increasing number of transactions,” Chan added.