The Japan Bank for International Cooperation announced that it has signed on November 30th 2011 a loan agreement totaling up to USD 120 million with Tenigal S de RL de CV, a company incorporated in the United Mexican States.

The loan was co financed with The Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Limited, Mizuho Corporate Bank Limited and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, with JBIC providing a guarantee for part of the co financed portion. The overall co financing loan amounted to USD 200 million.

This loan will finance Tenigal, a JV formed in Mexico by Nippon Steel Corporation and Ternium SA, incorporated in Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, for undertaking the project of manufacturing and selling hot dip galvanized and galvannealed steel sheets (production capacity: 400,000 tonnes per year) to meet increasing demand for automotive steel sheets in Mexico. The steel sheets produced by TENIGAL will be sold to automotive manufacturers in Mexico, including Japanese, US and European affiliates, to be used for their high end automobiles.

Amid increasingly intense competition in the global steel industry, NSC has designated the global expansion of steel business as one of the key components in their business strategy. The project is one of the latest steel sheet JV projects that NSC has undertaken overseas, following in the United States, Brazil and China. It seeks to meet the needs of local procurement by automotive manufacturers in Mexico where the production of automobiles is expected to grow well into the future. This loan will support NSC's overseas business strategy and ultimately serve to maintain and improve the international competitiveness of the Japanese steel industry.

JBIC will continue to contribute to further deepening and developing the close economic ties between Japan and Mexico, while supporting Japanese industries for maintaining and improving their international competitiveness.

(Sourced from www.jbic.go.jp)