UK Export Finance (UKEF) has signed a historic partnership with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), Central America’s leading development bank and the highest rated borrower in Latin America. The agreement will encourage joint financing of major clean energy, infrastructure and construction projects in the region that need expertise from the UK. This cooperation agreement guarantees a closer relationship between both institutions and will help finance major projects in Central America that involve UK exports, supporting businesses and jobs in the UK: a condition of UKEF’s involvement overseas. Governments and businesses in Central America looking to raise funds to develop larger projects can benefit from working with CABEI while also accessing UKEF’s support, aimed at reducing and spreading the cost of financing for buyers of UK exports.
Several countries in Central America benefitted from significant increases to UKEF’s country limits as the department has established a greater presence in the region. This means that at least £2.5 billion is available for new business in each of Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama and £1.5 billion for Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. Central America is home to some of the fastest growing economies in the world and trade between the UK and Central America was worth over £1.7 billion in 2020. This MoU will boost those trade links and builds on the UK-Central America trade association agreement signed in August 2019. UK Export Finance is the UK’s export credit agency. It exists to ensure that no viable UK export lacks for finance or insurance from the private market, providing finance and insurance to help exporters win, fulfil, and get paid for export contracts. UKEF has a global network of 15 “International Export Finance Executives” (IEFEs) based in strategic trading markets across Latin America, South Asia, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and Africa. The IEFE network is a key driver of business development activity and local UKEF representatives in the region are Diego Folino based in Mexico City and Camilo Neira in Bogota.