SatNews

Satellite Industry Intelligence Since 1983

Export-Import Bank + SS/L… Financially SatSpeaking…

[SatNews] The Export-Import Bank of the United States has approved a $171.5 million direct loan to support the export of a Ku-band broadcast satellite by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) of Palo Alto, Calif., to SES S.A. of Chateau de Betzdorf, Luxembourg.


QuetzSat under construction, photo courtesy of SS/L
The Ex-Im Bank financing also will cover launch insurance from AON Corporation, Chicago, Ill. SES will lease the entire capacity of the 32-transponder QuetzSat-1 satellite to EchoStar 77, which in turn will provide direct-to-home (DTH) broadcast satellite services for the ultimate end-user, DISH Network, Mexico.


Artistic rendition of QuetzSat, courtesy of SS/L
“Financing from Ex-Im Bank helps enable our customers to move forward with their vision of extending communications infrastructure around the world,” said John Celli, president of Space Systems/Loral. “It means hundreds of new jobs at our Palo Alto, Calif. manufacturing facility.” Celli also said the ability to provide Ex-Im Bank credit “helps us better compete against large government-supported overseas manufacturers that vie for the same business.” He said SS/L is one of the only large international aerospace companies that does not rely on government contracts for its business.

This is Ex-Im Bank’s first transaction with SES, a leading fixed satellite service provider with a global fleet of 44 satellites that reaches 99 percent of the world’s population. The QuetzSat-1 satellite also could provide services to Central America, the Caribbean and the continental United States ,if needed. Ex-Im Bank, an independent, self-sustaining federal agency, helps create and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in export financing and strengthening U.S. export competitiveness.


Ex-Im Bank homepage link
In fiscal year 2010, the Bank posted its second consecutive record-breaking year, including preliminary figures of $24.5 billion in export financing, which supported $34.4 billion worth of American exports and 227,000 American jobs at more than 3,300 U.S. companies. Of these authorizations, more than $5 billion was for small businesses — another record for the Bank.