Perfect 10: Export Finance Deals of the Year
This year's winners of the TXF Perfect 10 weren't only about size, although there were benchmark deals in terms of volume and sectors. They were more symptomatic of the broadening ECA mandate and the focus on energy transition.
This year's Perfect 10 Export Finance Deal of the Year winners beat a lot of worthy contenders. Not only did these transactions push the envelope for innovation and ingenuity, but they helped open up new pools of liquidity to future-facing commodities, green and social projects.
There were ECA-backed deals of all sizes in 2024. From the largest cruise ship deal to date and an intergrated solar project in Africa, there were some landmark deals in 2024. But who says size matters. There was a small-ticket strategic national road project backing SME exporters in Cameroon and a commodity trader tapping ECA debt to diversify its funding mix.
The most important theme across all of the winning deals was the stronger focus on sustainability with the lion's share of these transactions helping to drive energy transition and the race to net-zero emissions.
Here are TXF's Perfect 10 Deal of the Year winners:
Middle East Export Finance Deal of the Year
UKEF guaranteed a landmark $700 million Islamic Murabaha financing facility for the construction of the Six Flags Qiddiya City theme park in Saudi Arabia.
Transport Export Finance Deal of the Year
Carnival Corporation signed a €4.4 billion ($4.8 billion) ECA-backed loan to finance the purchase of four new class of cruise ships from Fincantieri. The deal marks the largest cruise ship financing in the export finance market to date.
Europe Export Finance Deal of the Year
ECA support was key to pushing the construction of Shotton Mill — a state-of-the-art containerboard manufacturing plant in the UK — over the financial line. The project marks the largest, most modern and most efficient such plant in the UK.
Asia-Pacific Export Finance Deal of the Year
The $1.02 billion equivalent of locally-denominated debt backing Cathay Life’s acquisition of a 50% stake in the Orsted-led Greater Changhua 4 offshore wind farm in Taiwan garnered heavy ECA support from six agencies, and was backed by a Corporate Power Purchase Agreement — a first for many of the ECA involved.
Africa Export Finance Deal of the Year
Angola’s Ministry of Finance signed a €157 million Euler Hermes-backed loan to fund the rehabilitation of 146km section of the EN150 national road in the Central African country. The road rehabilitation will enable and promote fast, convenient and safe transportation of goods and people.
Latin America Export Finance Deal of the Year
Chilean corporation Minera Centinela (Centinela) signed a multi-ECA-backed $2.5 billion loan agreement to finance the expansion of the Centinela copper mine. JBIC, KEXIM, EDC and Euler Hermes were involved in the deal. Copper is a future facing commodity as it is key to battery-making and will help drive the green industrial revolution.
Mining Export Finance Deal of the Year
Sibanye-Stillwater — via its subsidiary Keliber Technology — executed a €500 million ($555.8 million) green loan to develop its Keliber lithium project in Finland. The loan was guaranteed by the Finnish Export Credit (FEC) and the EIB provided a direct loan in an example of the increasing cooperation between DFIs and ECAs.
Manufacturing Export Finance Deal of the Year
Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America
South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group sealed a $1.35 billion ECA-backed green loan to fund its first electric vehicle manufacturing plant in the US. The green loan was backed by K-Sure and will help accelerate Hyundai's electrification strategy.
Supplier Credit Export Finance Deal of the Year
Siemens Gamesa - CESCE Covered Financing
Siemens Gamesa - far from a serial user of ECA debt - secured a €1.2 billion CESCE-guaranteed facility to enhance its capacity to manage a €40 billion order book for wind power projects, while promoting sustainability and aligning with EU energy independence goals.
Renewables Export Finance Deal of the Year
US EXIM provided a $872 million direct loan to the Ministry of Finance of Angola to finance the consultation of two PV solar power plants. The deal marks the largest ECA loan of an integrated solar plant in Africa, the largest renewables deal for EXIM to date, and the largest deal in Sub-Saharan Africa in EXIM’s history.
Social Infrastructure Export Finance Deal of the Year
Nakkas Otoyol Yatirim ve Isletme
The DFI/ECA-backed €1.04 billion non-recourse financing for the greenfield development of a motorway to be developed in the Istanbul Province, Turkey was a landmark deal contributing to multiple SDGs. The project will be the 8th and last section to be completed of the Northern Marmara Motorway, a 450km motorway which connects Turkey's Asian and European parts.
SME Export Finance Deal of the Year
The Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development Cameroon (MINEPAT)
Cameroon signed a SACE-backed loan for a strategic national road project. The deal has provided a financial blueprint for SME exporters to get involved in future such deals in the country.
Commodity Trader Export Finance Deal of the Year
Trafigura signed a two-year $150 million revolving credit facility to finance its acquisitions of non-hydrocarbon commodities originating from the UAE. The loan was guaranteed by Etihad Credit Insurance with a direct loan from ADEX and is symptomatic of commodity traders tapping ECA debt to diversify their funding mix.
Untied Export Finance Deal of the Year
This transaction marks one of Reliance Industries’s first green loan financings and the largest loan under SACE’s PUSH programme, the Italian ECA’s untied lending scheme. The facility will be used to finance/refinance Reliance Industries’s capital expenditure in relation to certain eligible green projects in various industries (ranging from solar cells manufacturing facilities to green hydrogen production).
