Eximbank to Establish 250 Billion Won Fund for Key Minerals and Energy Investment

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On November 3, the Export-Import Bank of Korea announced that it will establish a 250 billion won fund focused on key minerals and energy sectors through the Supply Chain Stabilization Fund.

The Supply Chain Stabilization Fund was officially launched in September last year as part of a pan-government response system to address global supply chain crises. It was established at the Export-Import Bank of Korea under the "Basic Act on Supporting Supply Chain Stabilization for Economic Security."

For this investment initiative, the fund will increase its contribution ratio to 40% compared to previous supply chain stabilization funds, with the fund itself investing 100 billion won and additional public and private capital being raised to create a total fund size of 250 billion won. The fund plans to actively take on risk to encourage private investment.

As an incentive for investment, a portion of the profits attributable to the Export-Import Bank of Korea from support for "supply chain stabilization leading companies" in the key minerals and energy sectors will be paid to fund managers.

The fund, established through public-private cooperation, will invest in various stages of the value chain (upstream and midstream) in key minerals and energy sectors, including production, processing, transportation, and storage. This is expected to contribute to the stabilization of supply chains by securing basic materials for key industries and ensuring stable sourcing of energy resources.

In particular, the Export-Import Bank of Korea emphasized that the fund will not only target projects such as refining rare earth elements concentrated in specific countries and resource recovery from waste batteries (extracting lithium, nickel, cobalt, etc.), but will also include investments in air and sea transportation services and logistics businesses necessary for resource transportation and storage, thereby identifying and supporting projects that contribute to supply chain stabilization.

The investment initiative is scheduled to be announced on the Export-Import Bank of Korea's website today. After the selection of fund managers and deliberation by the Fund Management Review Committee, the fund is expected to be established in the first half of next year.

An official from the Export-Import Bank of Korea stated, "We plan to encourage private investment in key minerals and energy sectors where supply uncertainty is high due to intensified competition for resources among countries and geopolitical risks," adding, "If private investment becomes more active in the future, we also plan to pursue comprehensive package support including joint investment, loans, and guarantees."

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