GIEK chief executive Wenche Nistand reveals that a record volume of applications for guarantees – $11.3bn – were received in 2012, underpinning strong growth in the offshore sector. GIEK now holds mortgages on 173 offshore vessels built at yards including VARD, Ulstein and Kleven.
The guarantees, which are based on OECD terms, allow the buyers of Norwegian products to obtain finance backed by Norway’s AAA credit rating, viewed as one of the strongest in the world. This supports Norwegian yards and equipment exporters by enabling their customers to access competitively-priced financing more easily.
Shipyards building speculatively – as both Ulstein and Kleven have done – also qualify for GIEK support. The guarantees are available to Norwegian offshore operators whose ships trade internationally and for the Norwegian content of ships built in foreign yards but vessels which work solely on the Norwegian coast, such as ferries, for example, do not qualify.
Most OECD countries have similar systems in place, but GIEK has been particularly successful because of Norway’s strong credit standing and a maritime and offshore cluster whose members include a range of leading ship design firms, builders, operators and equipment suppliers. Sources say that GIEK played a crucial role in the aftermath of the global crash, enabling Norwegian yards in particular to secure orders vital for their survival.
Meanwhile GIEK has just entered into a second agreement with Petrobras, enabling the Brazilian state energy firm to finance up to $1bn of Norwegian exports over the next two years. The oil company had already used up a similar arrangement agreed in 2010.
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