Saudi Aramco signs a $6 billion framework agreement with ‎KEXIM

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) said today, Tuesday, that it had signed a $6 billion framework agreement with Saudi Aramco, in a move that could help Korean companies win contracts in Saudi Arabia.

According to the “Korean Yonhap” agency, the 3-year agreement was signed between the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of Korea Yoon Hee-sung and the financial director of Saudi Aramco, Ziad Al-Murshid, in Seoul, and it is a follow-up measure to support the “boom in the Middle East.”

Under the framework agreement, the Korea Export-Import Bank can lend up to $6 billion to Saudi Aramco, which in turn pays South Korean companies participating in projects proposed by the Saudi oil company.

The state-run bank said: “The deal could help South Korean companies win contracts in the Middle East.”

The bank added that out of a total of $6 billion, $1 billion was allocated for hydrogen and renewable energy deals

The agreement came amid expectations of lucrative business opportunities in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, following the visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Seoul in November.

South Korean companies are seeking to win construction deals in a $500 billion Saudi project to develop environmentally friendly and smart cities in the Tabuk region.