Brazilian mining giant Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (Vale) has announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Export-Import Bank of South Korea (KEXIM), the South Korean official credit agency for export and import financing.
The MoU aims at providing financial support worth $1 billion to Vale's projects that will contribute to a stable supply of mineral resources to the South Korean market, enhancing, at the same time, the relationship between Vale and the South Korean companies.
According to Vale, it has already the availability of long-term credit lines contracted with official credit institutions of Brazil and Japan. Vale has also said that these lines have not been utilized yet and are dedicated to financing its project pipeline, strengthening its capability to generate shareholder value.
According to the statistics, during 2007 South Korea imported 46 million mt of iron ore, with 23 percent of the import volume coming from Brazil.