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JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA: The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) and the Industrial Development Corp. of South Africa Ltd. (IDC) today signed a Declaration of Intent (DoI) to help advance the South African government's Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) and the South African Renewable Initiative (SARi). Under the agreement, Ex-Im Bank will assist in financing up to $2 billion worth of U.S. technologies, products and services to South Africa's energy sector, with an emphasis on clean-energy development.

Fred P. Hochberg, chairman and president of Ex-Im Bank, and Gert Gouws, chief financial officer of the IDC, signed the DoI. The signing took place during the South Africa-United States Strategic Dialogue, which was hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

South Africa is a dynamic market that offers enormous opportunities for American companies, said Chairman Hochberg. This agreement will help ensure that Ex-Im Bank continues to provide financing to South African buyers that want to buy high-quality U.S. goods and services. This partnership will help create jobs and lasting economic opportunities for both our countries.

Established in 1940, the IDC is a South African national development finance institution set up to promote economic growth and industrial development. It is owned by the South African government under the supervision of the Economic Development department. The IDC's primary objectives are to contribute to the creation of balanced, sustainable economic growth in South Africa and on the rest of the continent.

Ex-Im Bank is open in over 180 countries and has identified nine key markets that offer great potential for U.S. exports. South Africa was chosen as one of these markets due to the size of its economy and close trading and investment ties to the United States. South Africa is the largest economy in Africa and the 29th largest economy in the world. Its GDP growth rate is expected to be 2.2 percent in 2012 and 2.7 percent in 2013.

As the largest U.S. export market in sub-Saharan Africa with $7.3 billion of exports in 2011, South Africa is a key economic partner for the United States. Additionally, South Africa is seeking significant investments in the following sectors: power, aviation, transportation and mining, thus creating a demand for high-quality American products and services in these industries. Ex-Im Bank authorized more than $930 million in financing to support U.S. exports to South Africa in FY 2011.

About the Ex-Im Bank:

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that helps create and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. In the past five years, Ex-Im Bank has earned for U.S. taxpayers $1.9 billion above the cost of operations. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees, export-credit insurance and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services.

Ex-Im Bank approved $32.7 billion in total authorizations in FY 2011 — an all-time Ex-Im record. This total includes more than $6 billion directly supporting small-business export sales — also an Ex-Im record. Ex-Im Bank's total authorizations are supporting an estimated $41 billion in U.S. export sales and approximately 290,000 American jobs in communities across the country. For more information, visit www.exim.gov.