You are here: HomeEuropeGE enters $12bn agreement with UKEF

Only last week, GE cited the absence of Ex-Im financing when it announced plans to shift up to 500 USA power-turbine manufacturing jobs to Europe and China.

GE is among the UK’s biggest inward investors across its different activities, employing more than 17,000 people in its industrial business units. GE said the company will continue to expand its operations in countries where official ECA financing is available.

Regarding Thursday’s UK deal, a GE spokeswoman said it was unlikely that GE would have made the investments in the United States even if Ex-Im had been operating, but the agreement was representative of the type of opportunities GE can no longer pursue in the USA while the bank is closed.

The U.S. Export-Import Bank was closed to new business from July 1 after Congress failed to reauthorize its charter, curtailing future financing commitments. We are fortunate to have the support of UK Export Finance (UKEF) – one of the most flexible ECAs in the world.

Its Oil & Gas Subsea Systems division, which is based in Aberdeen, exported $1.3bn-worth (£850m) of products to 54 countries past year. In addition to providing export finance support, UKEF will add GE as a member of its Direct Lending Facility Partnership Panel, which will allow the company to provide technical, commercial and financial solutions to its customers.

The deal confirms appetite and capacity to consider providing financing support for more than £7.7bn worth of projects under consideration, plus a new “top-up” support facility of up to £500m, subject to individual project approval and due diligence.

Critics of Britain’s export performance say the Government has been too slow to deliver the required resource to UKEF and complained that its overseas trade strategy, which is led by UK Trade & Investment, is often ponderous and of little value to smaller companies.

The memorandum of understanding was signed at Downing Street by GE and UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK’s export credit agency. “Export finance is a critical tool we use to support our customers. Without it, we cannot compete against foreign rivals who have ECA funding from their governments”. This line of credit will initially support potential orders in a number of worldwide markets, including Indonesia.

General Electric shares were down 1.8% to 24.70 in the stock market today.