Export-Import Bank Holds Meeting with Major Steel Companies to Hear Challenges

Up to 0.6 Percentage Point Interest Rate Discount on Loans

The Export-Import Bank of Korea announced on the 19th that it held the 'Steel Industry Customer Company CFO Meeting' attended by financial officers of major domestic steel companies.

The meeting was organized to introduce key policies, including the recently established 'Steel Industry Support Program' by the bank to help restore the competitiveness of the steel industry, and to listen to the business trends and financial difficulties of domestic steel companies.

The bank stated that it will offer interest rate discounts of up to 0.6 percentage points on loans to the steel industry and expand the scope of application from export-related loans to all loans.

On the 19th, key CFOs of major steel companies, including Wi Chan-jung, Head of the Innovation Growth Finance Division at the Korea Eximbank (fourth from the left in the photo), participated in the 'Steel Industry Customer Company Luncheon Meeting' held near Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Korea Eximbank

The CFOs of major steel companies expressed concerns about the domestic and international challenges surrounding the steel industry and called for a more active role from policy financial institutions. They lamented that competition is intensifying not only in the domestic market but also in export markets due to global oversupply, stagnation in downstream industries, and U.S. tariff impositions, making profitability improvement uncertain. They emphasized that financial support from the bank is essential for securing competitiveness through overseas expansion investment strategies and for raising funds to improve financial structures.

At the meeting, Wi Chan-jung, Head of the Innovation Growth Finance Division at the Export-Import Bank, said, “In line with the government’s 2025 economic policy direction emphasizing support for key industries, the bank has prepared the Steel Industry Support Program. We will do our best to help our steel companies overcome domestic and international difficulties and secure global competitiveness.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.