Tailwind for green energy: With a loan of approximately EUR 35m to a local sponsor, LBBW enables the German wind turbine manufacturer ENERCON GmbH to sell twelve turbines to Vietnam. The financing is secured with an export credit guarantee from the German government (also known as Hermes cover).
With this transaction, LBBW demonstrates its expertise as a partner for international renewable energy projects. The loan volume is approximately EUR 35m. It is the first export finance transaction with ENERCON GmbH in this country in Southeast Asia that is backed by the German government with an export credit guarantee. “The German government’s export credit guarantees are an important tool for promoting foreign trade. They protect exporters and export finance banks from defaults for political and economic reasons and thus play a key role in risk management and financing,” says Nanette Bubik, Head of Export Finance at LBBW.
Focus on renewable energy
The financing is provided as part of the “Special Initiative for Renewable Energy” for the German government’s export credit guarantees, with which the German government aims to boost the international expansion of renewable energy.
“With the financing under this initiative, we help export-focused German companies achieve success and advance the energy transition in emerg-ing markets such as Vietnam,” says Bubik. The 50-megawatt wind farm belongs to Ha Do Thuan Nam Wind Energy One Member Co. Ltd. in the Ninh Thuận region and will start its operations in late summer 2021. A local bank guarantee facilitated the structuring of the project. “The government-backed loan enabled the financing and will thus be the blueprint for more ENERCON projects with Hermes cover in Vietnam. LBBW has reliably accompanied us on this path with its expertise and market know-how,” adds Steffen Brauns, Regional Sales Manager for Asia-Pacific at ENERCON.
Paving the way for more green finance
LBBW has already implemented several wind projects in Vietnam. “With a total capacity of more than 100 megawatts, we have established our-selves as the market leader among foreign financing banks in the field of wind power,” says Jens Rübbert, Head of Asia/Pacific at LBBW. More ECA covered loans for wind turbines with hundreds of megawatts of capacity are planned to be closed this year.