Korea Citibank Solely Leads Syndicated Financing for Solus Advanced Materials North America Plant

Trade Insurance Corporation Oversees $200 Million Deal with Export Development Canada

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Citibank Korea has led a syndicated loan for Solus Advanced Materials, a secondary battery material company, to invest in its North American factory.

On the 29th, Citibank Korea announced that on the 25th, it signed a syndicated loan agreement with 'Volta Energy Solutions Canada,' a local subsidiary in Canada, to support Solus Advanced Materials' battery foil (copper foil for secondary batteries) business in North America.

Accordingly, Citibank Korea, as the sole lead arranger, supported a syndicated loan worth a total of $200 million (approximately 267.8 billion KRW) together with the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation's overseas project finance insurance and Export Development Canada. This financial support is the second after Citibank Korea's investment in Solus Advanced Materials' battery foil factory in Hungary, made possible through joint support from export credit agencies of both Korea and Canada.

The factory to be constructed through this agreement will be the first battery foil factory in North America. Located on a 129,700㎡ site in Quebec, Canada, it is scheduled to begin mass production in the second half of 2024, producing enough battery foil annually to supply approximately 540,000 electric vehicles. With this financial support, Solus Advanced Materials is expected to accelerate its North American market entry by stably supplying materials and components to domestic secondary battery and electric vehicle companies preparing to enter North America.

In particular, under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), electric vehicles are excluded from subsidies if a certain percentage of battery components are not produced in North America. This support is expected to assist domestic secondary battery and electric vehicle companies in swiftly establishing overseas production facilities. Furthermore, this agreement was made possible through joint support from export credit agencies of Korea and Canada, serving as an opportunity to further contribute to supply chain cooperation and collaboration between the two countries.

Myungsoon Yoo, CEO of Citibank Korea, stated, "This agreement is an achievement resulting from the 'Business Agreement for Supporting Korean Companies' Export and Overseas Expansion' signed by Citibank Korea and the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation in February last year," adding, "Based on Citibank's global network, we will actively support more domestic companies to enter overseas markets and lead the global market."