AIIB signs US$300m Türk Eximbank loans, with US$200m for business liquidity

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has signed US$300m of sovereign-backed financing with Türk Eximbank, including US$200m intended to support business liquidity and help Turkish exporters withstand external economic shocks.

The package, signed during the COP31 climate summit in Antalya and detailed by AIIB on 13 November, consists of two separate loans with different financing objectives.

The larger, US$200m component will be channelled through Türk Eximbank to eligible businesses under AIIB’s Energy, Food Security and Economic Resilience Facility. It is designed to support working capital, business continuity and financing needs arising from economic disruption.

Eligible borrowers include small and medium-sized enterprises, while part of the funding will be reserved for businesses in the 11 Turkish provinces affected by the 2023 earthquakes.

The second loan, worth US$100m, will support longer-term investment in renewable energy, energy storage, energy efficiency, clean mobility and climate adaptation. It is also intended to help exporters prepare for the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which introduces additional carbon-related requirements for certain traded goods.

The distinction between the two loans is important for the export-finance market.

The US$200m facility addresses liquidity requirements that can arise when businesses face delayed payments, volatile input costs or disruptions to production and international trade. The US$100m component instead supports investment in assets and processes that may affect exporters’ longer-term competitiveness.

Türk Eximbank will act as the financing intermediary, directing support to qualifying companies through its established lending channels. The financing is sovereign-backed, but the announcement does not establish that the entire US$300m has already been disbursed to individual businesses.

The projects had previously appeared in AIIB’s pipeline as proposed financing. The new development is the signing of the loan agreements, rather than their initial consideration.

AIIB described this as its fourth financing arrangement with Türk Eximbank, reflecting an existing relationship between the multilateral lender and Türkiye’s official export credit agency.

For exporters, the practical value will depend on how quickly Türk Eximbank deploys the funds, the eligibility conditions applied to borrowers and the terms offered under the respective programmes.

Detailed pricing and the timetable for individual business disbursements were not disclosed in the signing announcement.

The package nevertheless adds a substantial new source of officially supported liquidity at a time when exporters face both immediate cash-flow pressures and the cost of adapting to changing international markets.