The export credit agencies of South Korea and Australia recently signed a deal to reinforce their partnership and to support the overseas expansion of their countries’ companies.

The Export-Import Bank of Korea said Wednesday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Australia’s Export Finance and Insurance Corporation outlining an agreement to exchange information concerning the overseas expansion of the small- and medium-sized companies in the two countries.

“We will be able to share our experiences in policy financing and ultimately reinforce our mutual partnership,” said Korea Eximbank president Lee Duk-hoon, after signing the deal with his Australian counterpart Andrew Hunter.

Finding a plausible joint export project in a third country is one of the goals of the bilateral partnership, Lee added.

The two organizations also held a joint workshop on the previous day to share case studies on successful examples of SME financing.

Established in 1957 and restructured to its current form in 1991, EFIC is Australia’s export credit agency. Its role is to support the growth of local companies in the overseas market by providing financial solutions, should they face challenges in the private market.

The fact that the South Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement went into effect last week will also maximize the synergy of the MOU, officials said.

“Australia is the world’s 12th-largest economy and is especially rich in natural resources, so we hope to build a complementary relationship in the future,” the bank’s spokesperson said.

“It will also act as a gateway for Korean companies that wish to enter the Oceanian market.”

After his meeting with EFIC, the Korea Eximbank chief also met with Gina Rinehart, chairperson of Hancock Prespecting, on Thursday.

The company is the largest shareholder of the $12 billion Roy Hill project, the single-largest iron ore infrastructure development project. Korea Eximbank has provided some $1 billion of financing.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)