UK Export Finance (UKEF) has topped the global league table of export credit agencies for sustainable finance after providing £3.6 billion to clean energy, healthcare and critical infrastructure projects in 2021, up from £2.4 billion in 2020.
UKEF helps foreign countries finance important infrastructure projects if they commit to sourcing goods and services from the UK. This creates new export opportunities for UK companies and supports jobs.
The agency moved up from second place in the global rankings last year and has now provided over £7 billion to sustainable projects since 2019, according to Trade & Export Finance Limited (TXF).
With the rankings announced at TXF’s recent Global Export Finance Conference in Lisbon, the UK’s export credit agency was also awarded for its leading work in sustainable finance for three transactions.
- Renewables Export Finance Deal of the Year: £210 million to support the construction of a major offshore wind facility in Taiwan.
- Healthcare Export Finance Deal of the Year: £130 million for six new hospitals in Côte D’Ivoire.
- Rail Transport Export Finance Deal of the Year: £1.1 billion to help fund the construction of a 503km high-speed electric railway from Ankara to Izmir, a lower-carbon alternative to current air and road routes.
In 2021, UKEF became one of the world’s first export credit agencies to launch a Climate Change Strategy and commit to decarbonising its existing portfolio by 2050. To do this, it intends to increase its support for sustainable projects using its £50 billion capacity to support UK exports and align with the Government’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution.
UK Export Finance CEO, Louis Taylor, said: “2021 was the year where UKEF has led the world of export finance into a more sustainable future. I am proud that our work in leading the way globally has been recognised today and we will continue to use the power of our finance to make the world a better, more prosperous and sustainable place”.
