News

Washington, D.C. - Today the board of directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) approved a preliminary commitment for a nearly $370 million loan to support the export of U.S.-made telecommunications-related goods and services from multiple states for the rehabilitation and development of a broadcasting system in Indonesia.

If the transaction reaches final approval, EXIM's financing would support an estimated 2,300 U.S. jobs from manufacturers located in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Ohio.

The transaction would finance the export of U.S. goods and services to be used to rehabilitate the production facilities of the Indonesian state-owned public national broadcaster, Televisi Republik Indonesia (TVRI). The project would include conversion of TVRI's transmitters from analog to a high-definition digital system.

EXIM's authorization of this preliminary commitment significantly enhances the competitiveness of the potentially principal U.S. exporter, GatesAir, an electronics-equipment manufacturer headquartered in Mason, Ohio, to secure the contract with TVRI. Final approval of EXIM financing for this transaction could lead to the first of potentially many projects for the company to build upon in the telecommunications sector in Indonesia.

"President Trump has made bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States a top priority of his administration," said EXIM President and Chairman Kimberly A. Reed. "Our board action today will give this Ohio-based company the ability to compete for this important telecommunications project in Indonesia. As underscored at the Indo-Pacific Business Forum and East Asia Summit last week, EXIM wants to work with our partners in Indonesia and across the Indo-Pacific region to strengthen their economies by connecting them with quality 'Made In the USA' goods and services."

"As discussed in the technology roundtable EXIM hosted earlier this week, we are committed to expanding our support for U.S. companies in technology-related industries. If this transaction reaches final approval, it would signal that EXIM is back and stands ready to help them increase their exports and support jobs in this important sector," Chairman Reed added.

"If approved, this transaction will bring modern and reliable broadcasting to communities throughout Indonesia," said EXIM Board of Directors member Spencer Bachus III. "At the same time, it will open the door for United States' exports to a country where our competitors have taken significant market share away from us over the past five years. Indonesia required all bidders for the digital conversion project to utilize their export credit agency, so private financing was not an option."

In a separate action in today's meeting, EXIM's board approved an increase in the delegated authority level of The Huntington National Bank in Columbus, Ohio, to a maximum of $10 million per transaction. Under delegated authority, pre-approved lenders can commit the agency's guarantee of working capital loans to exporters at the time that the loan is processed. EXIM's working capital guarantees help exporters to obtain the commercial loans needed to maintain the cash flow to fulfill existing export contracts and add new business. The Huntington National Bank won EXIM's Lender of the Year award at the agency's annual conference in March 2019.

"EXIM wants to help regional and community banks, as well as small businesses compete to win in the global marketplace," said Chairman Reed. "The agency is dedicated to fostering this important strategic partnership that will support the growth of U.S. exports."

ABOUT EXIM BANK:

EXIM is an independent federal agency that promotes and supports American jobs by providing competitive and necessary export credit to overseas purchasers of U.S. goods and services. A robust EXIM can level the global playing field for U.S. exporters when they compete against foreign companies that receive support from their governments. EXIM also contributes to U.S. economic growth by helping to create and sustain hundreds of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the United States. In recent years, approximately 90 percent of the total number of the agency's authorizations has directly supported small businesses. Since 1992, EXIM has generated more than $9 billion for the U.S. Treasury for repayment of U.S. debt.

For more information about EXIM, please visit www.exim.gov.