The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has approved a $118 million (€91.4 million) direct loan to the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) to buy a satellite and other goods and services from Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company.
“By providing financing for Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group, this Ex-Im Bank loan supports US manufactured satellites and U.S. jobs,” said Linda Reiners, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Commercial Ventures vice-president.
The loan represents Ex-Im Bank’s first satellite transaction with the government of Vietnam. It supported approximately 525 full-time equivalent American jobs, according to Lockheed Martin estimates, and financed export sales totaling $215 million, Ex-Im Bank said.
For VNPT, the loan is expected to help the state-owned Vietnamese telco meet the growing demands of the telecoms and TV markets emerging in the region.
The satellite, VINASAT-2, is a geosynchronous satellite that was launched on May and recently completed a series of in-orbit testing.
Equipped with a payload of 24 active Ku-band transponders, the satellite provides coverage to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand.
BNP Paribas will serve as the documentation agent and letter-of-credit bank, Ex-Im Bank added.