□ The Export-Import Bank of Korea  announced on the 11th that it has conducted overseas shipowner finance marketing in Greece to expand orders for Korean shipbuilders.

□ Chairman Bang Moon-kyu met Maria Angelicusis at the headquarters of Angelicusys Group, Greece’s largest shipping company in Athens, on the 8th (local time), and signed a “financial agreement” that calls for Korea Eximbank to provide shipowner financing if Angelicus orders large ships to Korean shipbuilders in the future.

○ The agreement signed by the two agencies also included the provision of finance by Korea Eximbank when Korean shipbuilders win orders for eco-friendly ships (such as heterogeneous fuel* and ammonia propulsion ships) ordered by Angelicus over the next three years.

* Domestic shipbuilders applied the world’s first LNG DF (Duel Fuel) propulsion system (engine) to merchant ships, and used heterogeneous fuels (diesel, LNG) to drastically reduce pollutants.

□ Greece is the world’s largest shipping power and owns about 50% of all EU ships and about 20% of world ships.

○ Currently, about 20% ($12.9 billion) of the total order balance ($66.1 billion) of Korean shipbuilders was ordered by Greece.

○ In particular, as a number of Greek shipping companies are expected to participate in Qatar’s Qatar Petroleum (QP) bidding project for LNG carriers in November, Korea Eximbank’s expression of willingness to provide financial support is expected to greatly contribute to the expansion of orders for Korean shipbuilders.

○ Qatar QP is expected to start ordering up to 100 LNG carriers sequentially soon, with a total of 23 trillion won in terms of amount.

□ “Greece Angelicusys Group is an important partner of Korea Eximbank and the Korean shipbuilding company,” Chairman Bang said at the signing ceremony. “We expect Korean shipbuilders to expand orders by using various financial tools of Korea Eximbank.”

□ On the same day, Chairman Bang also met with Maritime Minister Giannis Plakiotakis at the Greek government building to discuss ways to cooperate, including strengthening the shipping and shipbuilding networks between the two countries.

○ In particular, Korea Eximbank expressed its willingness to actively support LNG carriers, LPG ships, and tankers, which are technology-intensive and high value-added ships that South Korea orders to maintain the super gap with its rival China.

○ Chairman Bang said at the meeting, “It is expected that Greek shipping companies will be able to respond to the EU’s climate response bill package* as Korean shipbuilders can provide eco-friendly and smart ships incorporating cutting-edge technologies.“

* Legislative package for EU to reduce carbon emissions by 55% compared to 1990 by 2030

□ Meanwhile, Chairman Bang met with Nikolas Martinos, vice chairman of the Greek Shipowner Association, on the 9th (local time), discussed the recent trends in ship orders around the world, and asked for full support from the association for Korean shipbuilders