Eximbank reopens office in Manila

The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) said Thursday it reopened a representative office in Manila as part of efforts to bolster its overseas expansion. The office is tasked with supporting South Korean companies in trade, offshore investment and financing loans, as well as shoring up investment in an ongoing infrastructure project in the capital of the Philippines, it said in a statement. The Manila office had been shut down in the aftermath of the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, as the bank's overseas business was downsized. After attending the opening ceremony, Kim Yong-hwan, chief of Eximbank, signed a deal with Philippine Finance Minister Cesar Purisima to provide an additional US$13 million loan to support an airport construction in the northern Philippines worth $167 million, the bank said. The project has been under development since 2008, with a construction completion date set for next year. Eximbank has so far set aside a total of 1.7 trillion won ($1.4 billion) for investment in the Philippines, under a state-run fund called the economic development cooperation fund (EDCF) aimed at helping poor and less-developed countries through low interest rate loans.