Ex-Im Bank Approves $45 Million to Finance the Export of U.S. Turbine Products to Israel

-- Supports 100 U.S. Jobs

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The board of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) voted to guarantee a $44.8 million loan extended by G.E. International Inc. to Mashav Initiating and Development Ltd. (Mashav) that will facilitate the export of power-plant equipment to Israel and support approximately 100 U.S. jobs in Houston and Cincinnati, according to Bank estimates derived from Departments of Commerce and Labor data and methodology.

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"Our financing will boost American exports to Israel and support key manufacturing jobs here at home," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. "The American equipment involved in the transaction is the best of its kind, and it will benefit our partners in Israel and encourage them to continue to 'Buy American.'"

The exports include one GE LM6000 PF Sprint gas-turbine generator set manufactured by GE Packaged Power Inc., two Energy Chiller packages manufactured by TAS Services LLC, and related services. Mashav plans to employ the equipment in the expansion of its power plant in Ramla, Israel. The plant is scheduled to be operational by January, 2014.

"US Ex-Im Bank's financing support for the Mashav transaction was a key factor in securing this deal for GE. It is an essential element contributing to U.S. job growth and exports in the global marketplace," said Mohammad Kudia, managing director, GE Sales & Project Finance, the mandated financing arranger and advisor for Mashav.

The Export Guarantee and Insurance Corporation (EGAP), the export credit agency of the Czech Republic, is cofinancing the transaction and re-insuring Ex-Im Bank for the purchase of other products. The transaction is Ex-Im Bank's largest with EGAP.

ABOUT EX-IM BANK:
Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that creates and maintains U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. In the past five years (from Fiscal Year 2008), Ex-Im Bank has earned for U.S. taxpayers nearly $1.6 billion above the cost of operations. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees, export-credit insurance and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services.

Ex-Im Bank approved $35.8 billion in total authorizations in FY 2012 – an all-time Ex-Im record. This total includes more than $6.1 billion directly supporting small-business export sales – also an Ex-Im record. Ex-Im Bank's total authorizations are supporting an estimated $50 billion in U.S. export sales and approximately 255,000 American jobs in communities across the country. For more information, visit www.exim.gov.