Export finance to the tune of USD 800 million for sheet steel plant in the US

Frankfurt am Main (ots) -

- KfW IPEX-Bank finances one of North America's largest and most
state-of-the-art production facilities
- Supporting Germany as a high-tech manufacturing location: SMS
Siemag to supply core components for the highly efficient steel
plant
- Recycling: Using scrap steel as the primary raw material
conserves resources in the production of high-strength steels

KfW IPEX-Bank is lending USD 794 million to finance the export of
a complete, scrap-based, sheet steel production facility to the USA.
The borrower and client for this new-build project is Big River Steel
LLC, a company based in Mississippi County, Arkansas. The core
components for the mill - which will be one of the largest and most
state-of-the-art scrap steel recycling facilities in North America -
are to come from Germany. They will be supplied by the steel mill
systems provider SMS Siemag in Düsseldorf. KfW IPEX-Bank is acting as
the mandated lead arranger and underwriter for the complex financing
package that has a term of ten years and includes substantial export
credit insurance from the German Federal Government (Hermes cover).

"This financial close shows that German engineering expertise is
in demand around the world, especially in connection with modern and
forward-looking production technologies," said Markus Scheer, member
of the Management Board of KfW IPEX-Bank. "In this case we are
financing a highly efficient steel mill while also safeguarding many
qualified jobs for the exporter in Germany."

The facility financed by KfW IPEX-Bank is designed to produce 1.6
million tonnes of high-quality steel annually. The primary raw
material used will be scrap steel sourced from regional markets. The
total project costs for the construction of the facility in Osceola,
Arkansas come to USD 1.6 billion.

The production facility being financed by KfW IPEX-Bank will be
based on state-of-the-art technology supplied by SMS Siemag in
Germany, the market leader in this segment. In addition to the
facilities themselves, which will include an electric arc furnace, a
thin slab casting and rolling plant, a cold steel press and other
stages of the steel refinement process, the German exporter will also
operate a service workshop for Big River Steel to ensure the
maintenance of relevant production modules through SMS Millcraft LLC,
its subsidiary in the US. SMS Siemag and KfW IPEX-Bank have a
long-standing business relationship.

Big River Steel produces a wide range of high-quality steels,
including innovative products such as strong, multiphase steels that
help improve energy efficiency and safety in the automotive industry.
Its main buyers are US companies in the automotive, pipe and energy
sectors. The project's location in the southeast of the USA means it
stands to benefit from the particularly favourable prospects for
growth in that region.

About KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH

Within the KfW Group, KfW IPEX-Bank is responsible for
international project and export finance. Its function of providing
financing to boost the German and European economy is derived from
the legal mandate assigned to KfW. It offers medium- and long-term
financing to support key export industries, to develop economic and
social infrastructure and to fund environmental and climate
protection projects. KfW IPEX-Bank operates as a legally independent
group subsidiary and plays a major role in fulfilling KfW's
promotional mission. It is represented in the most important economic
and financial centres across the globe.

Pressekontakt:
KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH, Palmengartenstraße 5-9, 60325 Frankfurt
Press Office: Thomas Krick, E-Mail: axel.breitbach@kfw.de
Phone: 069 7431-8454, Fax: 069 7431-9409,
E-Mail: info@kfw-ipex-bank.de,
Internet: www.kfw-ipex-bank.de