Korean export credit agency provides $200m financing to Trafigura for Korean shipping charters

The Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-SURE) has announced it will provide a total of $200 million in mid- to long-term financing to the Singapore-based global commodity brokerage company Trafigura. The financing is designated for the payment of charter fees to Korean shipping companies.

K-SURE described the support as the first time it has provided financial support for the export of shipping services. The financing is conditional on the expansion of Trafigura's use of Korean shipping companies, and the agency stated that additional charter contracts between Trafigura and these firms are expected as a result.

The agency noted that Trafigura has existing charter contracts with several domestic shipping companies, and it expects the scale of these contracts to increase significantly under the terms of the financial support.

It also highlighted that 55 per cent of the currently concluded charter contracts are with mid-sized shipping firms, which are expected to benefit from the arrangement by securing additional business.