In continuation of the fund raising programme initiated in FY 2012-13, Reliance Industries (RIL) has tied up Export Credit Agency (ECA) facility of up to USD 550 million co-financed by JBIC and a group of other Japanese banks backed by NEXI to part finance the proposed expansion of its petrochemical plants and setting up new gasification plant and refinery off-gas cracker over the next two to three years. This is RIL's eighth ECA facility for the largest capital expenditure program it has undertaken.
 
This is the first time that JBIC is extending credit to RIL. JBIC will provide direct financing of up to USD 330 million and Japanese banks, supported by a 95% NEXI insurance cover, will finance up to USD 220 million. The participating banks include The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank. and three regional Japanese banks namely The Gunma Bank Ltd., The Hachijuni Bank, Ltd. and The Chiba Bank.
 
This facility will have a door-to-door tenor of twelve years and will be used to finance contracts for imports of goods & services signed with more than 20 Japanese suppliers, including some SMEs and MMEs.
 
With this facility, NEXI has established a new insurance program that extends support to Japanese regional banks’ for financing such overseas projects. In addition to the aforesaid six Japanese banks, some more banks (Japanese regional banks) are expected to participate through a partial assignment of the contractual rights and obligations of NEXI covered portion, the company said.

Shares of the company gained Rs 1, or 0.1%, to trade at Rs 969.35. The total volume of shares traded was 18,616 at the BSE (9.29 a.m., Wednesday).