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HANOI, VIETNAM - The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) and the government of Vietnam have agreed to a USD$500 million financing facility to boost sales of U.S. equipment and services to Vietnam for high-priority infrastructure projects, backed by Ex-Im Bank financing.

Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg today signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietnam Development Bank General Director Nguyen Quang Dung during a three-day visit to Vietnam. Senior representatives of the Office of the Government and the Ministry of Finance witnessed the signing.

Vietnam is one of the world's key growing economies. Ex-Im Bank is pleased to provide a USD$500 million financing facility to support the nation's infrastructure growth through the purchase of U.S. goods and services by the government and private companies, Hochberg said. This agreement is a continuation of the increasingly close ties that have been established between our countries starting in 1995. It expresses our readiness to help finance Vietnam's infrastructure development in key sectors such as communications, transportation including highway and rail projects, renewable energy and other types of power, wastewater treatment, and medical equipment and services.

Ex-Im Bank opened in Vietnam for short- and medium-term financing in 1998 and expanded the relationship in subsequent years with new agreements. A Framework Guarantee Agreement with the State Bank of Vietnam facilitated the issuance of Vietnamese Government guarantees so that Vietnamese buyers could obtain U.S. goods and services with Ex-Im Bank support. A Project Incentive Agreement between the governments of the two countries supported limited-recourse project finance transactions in Vietnam, where repayment is based on project revenues rather than a guarantee from the national government.

The Vietnam and U.S. governments passed a Bilateral Trade Agreement in December 2001. In December 2006, Vietnam gained Permanent Normalized Trade Relations with the United States, and in January 2007, Vietnam became the 150th member of the World Trade Organization.

Under the new memorandum of understanding, Ex-Im Bank and the Vietnam Development Bank agree to share information on trade and business opportunities to facilitate the sale of equipment and services from the United States to Vietnam.

Chairman Hochberg is meeting with a wide range of public and private sector leaders during his stays in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. He will call on Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and meet with the Ministry of Trade and Industry , the Ministry of Transport , the Ministry of Finance , and the Ministry for Planning and Investment.

He also will meet with Vietnam Airlines Corp., participate in roundtables with Vietnamese CEOs and bankers, and address the Hanoi American Chamber of Commerce in a luncheon.

Ex-Im Bank is the official export-credit agency of the United States. The independent, self-sustaining federal government agency helps to create and maintain U.S. jobs by financing the sales of U.S. exports, primarily to emerging markets throughout the world, providing loan guarantees, export-credit insurance and direct loans. Ex-Im Bank's exposure in Vietnam currently totals $231 million.

More information is available on the Bank's web site at www.exim.gov, or by calling in the United States 1-800-565-3946 (1-800-565-EXIM). Vietnamese companies interested in purchasing U.S. goods and services supported by Ex-Im Bank financing may contact Ms. Tuyet Trees of the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service in Hanoi by email (Tuyet.Trees@mail.doc.gov) or in Ho Chi Minh City James Mayfield (james.mayfield@mail.doc.gov)