Shinhan Bank to pour $2.2 bn into state defense export initiative

[Courtesy of Shinhan Bank]

Shinhan Bank Co., one of the major commercial lenders in South Korea, announced Tuesday that it will spend 3 trillion won ($2.22 billion) in funds by the end of this year to support an inter-ministerial initiative designed to bolster defense exports.

The initiative, Defense Industry Export Project, led by the Korea Defense Industry Trade Support Center, a defense trade of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), aims to enhance the country’s response to the world’s growing demand for defense solutions and make the defense industry more competitive.

Other relevant governmental bodies such as the Ministry of Defense and Defense Acquisition Program Administration will participate in the project.

Shinhan Bank will provide trade financing, policy and other operational funds to small-to-medium sized enterprises in the defense sector. The lender recently launched a loan product dedicated to offering financial support to small-size defense firms.