Japan Bank for International Cooperation
Encyclopedia
The , also known by its acronym, JBIC, is a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese public financial institution and export credit agency, and was created on October 1, 1999, through the merging of the Japan Export-Import Bank (JEXIM) and the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF). http://www.jbic.go.jp/english/base/release/others/1999/A12/nr99_01.php
  • JBIC is currently the international wing of (administered by the Ministry of Finance) established on October 1, 2008. (discussed later)


The bank is wholly owned by the Japanese government, and its budget and operations are regulated by the JBIC law. It is headquartered in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 and operates in 18 countries with 21 offices.

The main purpose of the institution is to promote economic cooperation between Japan and oversea countries, by providing resources to foreign investments and by fostering international commerce. It also has a major role in promoting Japanese exports and imports, and the country's activities overseas.

The bank's presence can be seen both in developed and developing countries. It tries to contribute to the stability of the international financial order and to the promotion of sustainable development. It follows a policy of not competing with ordinary financial institutions. The bank is one of the instruments of Japan's official development assistance
Official development assistance
Official development assistance is a term compiled by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to measure aid. The DAC first compiled the term in 1969. It is widely used by academics and journalists as a convenient indicator of...

 (ODA), which contributes to the execution of the country's foreign policy
Foreign policy
A country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries...

.

As it aims at sustainable development, JBIC is concerned about social
Social issues
Social issues are controversial issues which relate to people's personal lives and interactions. Social issues are distinguished from economic issues...

 and environmental issues, http://www.jbic.go.jp/english/environ/guide/eguide/pdf/guide.pdf and requires Environmental Impact Assessment studies to provide funding to any project.

On Inauguration of New JBIC:

Following the passage of the Japan Finance Corporation* Law on May 18, 2007, during the 166th Ordinary Diet Session, the International Financial Operations (IFOs) of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), National Life Finance Corporation (NLFC), Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Finance Corporation (AFC) and Japan Finance Corporation for Small and Medium Enterprise (JASME) will be merged on October 1, 2008, to become a new policy-based financing institution, tentatively called Japan Finance Corporation (JFC)*. (Note)

Overview of New JBIC:
1.Mission
The new JBIC constitutes the international finance sector of Japan Finance Corporation (JFC)*, a policy-based financing institution. (Note 1)

The new JBIC performs the following three functions to contribute to sound development of the international economy, including Japan:(Note 2)
  1. Promote overseas development of strategically important natural resources
  2. Support Japanese industry efforts to develop international business operations
  3. Respond to financial disorder in the international economy


Note 1: To maintain the international trust and confidence enjoyed by JBIC, the international finance sector of JFC* will continue to use the name of JBIC.
Note 2: In addition to the above functions, the new JBIC will take over, on a separate account, financial operations for effective realignment of the US military forces stationed in Japan pursuant to the relevant special legislation.

2.Key Operational Principles

The new JBIC will conduct business operations based on the following principles:
(1) Well-focused policy-based financing
As a policy-based financing institution, the new JBIC shall conduct speedy and well-focused operations based on policy needs in response to economic and financial situations in Japan and abroad.
(2) Complementing private-sector financial institutions
To effectively perform the functions required for policy-based financing, the new JBIC shall take account of situations where private-sector financial institutions are placed in their international finance activities and supplement them.
(3) Sufficient revenues to cover expenditures
Pursuant to the Japan Finance Corporation* Law, the new JBIC shall make efforts to maintain the financial soundness of its international finance operations.
(4) Maintaining and improving international trust and confidence
to conduct adequate international finance operations and effective funding operations, the new JBIC shall maintain and improve the international trust and confidence enjoyed by JBIC.
(5) Conducting business operations by drawing on its expertise and initiatives
The new JBIC shall conduct operations by drawing on its own expertise and initiatives on international finance.
  • tentative name in English


Of the two types of operations conducted by the current JBIC, JFC will take over IFOs in its international finance sector.However, to maintain international trust and confidence enjoyed by JBIC, the international finance sector of JFC will continue to use the name of JBIC as it conducts international finance operations.
    • JBIC is currently the international wing of Japan Finance Corporation (JFC) established October 1, 2008. "The predecessor of JBIC is the International Financial Operations of former JBIC. JFC will take over IFOs in its international wing. However, to maintain international trust and confidence enjoyed by JBIC, the international wing of JFC will continue to use the name of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) as it conducts international finance operations. "(JBIC website)

Operation

JBIC has mainly two ways of performing its loans: International Financial Operations (IFO) and Overseas Economic Operations (ODA
Official development assistance
Official development assistance is a term compiled by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to measure aid. The DAC first compiled the term in 1969. It is widely used by academics and journalists as a convenient indicator of...

). These operations are independent of each other, and are clearly separated in the bank's financial statements.

The IFO operations include loans and equity participation in overseas projects of Japanese corporations, therefore contributing to Japanese activities overseas. These operations are aimed at both developed and developing countries. As of March 31, 2006, the IFO operations accounted for 985.5 billion yen. http://www.jbic.go.jp/english/base/profile/organize/index.php

The ODA operations are aimed mainly at developing countries, specially the ones in Asia, which accounted for 51,8% of the bank's operations in 2004 fiscal year http://www.jbic.org.br/qs2.asp. These operations provide long-term and low interest loans to important projects that develop social structure and infrastructure of developing countries. The JBIC's financial assistance represents 40 percent of Japan's official development assistance. As of March 31, 2006, the ODA operations accounted for 770 billion yen. http://www.jbic.go.jp/english/base/profile/organize/index.php

As of March, 2005, the country which had access to the most loans was Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, followed by China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. Brazil was the most benefited from South American countries, holding the sixth place in the bank's investments. http://www.jbic.org.br/jbicnobrasil.asp

References

External links

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