HSBC says Italy's export credit agency Sace will provide reinsurance guarantees for the credit facility, with additional security being provided from several offtake agreements. The funds will be used to finance the export of equipment and services for the construction of the 600,000-tonne-a-year (t/y) styrene monomer plant. Snamprogetti and Sazeh will provide detailed engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) supervision on the project, with construction being carried out by a local subcontractor.

This is the third ECGD-guaranteed export credit agreement between HSBC and NPC since the agency resumed medium-term cover for Iran in October 2000. HSBC in March 2002 agreed to provide a $34 million export credit to Bank Tejaratfor the construction of a carbon monoxide plant being built for NPC by Snamprogetti. In the same month, the bank agreed to act as lead arranger on the co-financing of an export credit facility between Japan Bank for International Co-operation and Bank Mellatfor a major fertiliser complex in the Bandar Assaluyeh special economic zone (MEED 8:3:02; 1:6:01).