ICO and Pymar renew the agreement to promote shipbuilding sector financing

ICO may issue guarantees up to 200 million euros in collaboration with PYMAR

The Small and Medium Industry Enterprises General Secretary, Francisco Blanco Ángel, Almudena López del Pozo, CEO of PYMAR, a company that brings together the main Spanish private shipyards, and the President of the Official Credit Institute (ICO), José Carlos García de Quevedo, have signed the renewal, for the next four years (2023-2027), the financial operations coverage agreement aimed to promote the shipbuilding transformation of our country.

This agreement establishes a collaboration framework between both institutions to support the shipbuilding and sector transformation in Spain, by issuing guarantees in operations with the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism (MINCOTUR) official support. This mechanism of guarantees contributes to the sector activity boosting and promotes the new building orders and transformation of ships in Spanish shipyards.

Following the agreement signed today, ICO will be able to issue, with the collaboration of PYMAR, up to 200 million euros in guarantees with the aim of mobilizing financing from private entities to the Spanish shipbuilding industry. This agreement represents another step in the commitment that PYMAR and ICO keep promoting, in collaboration with private financial entities, to the shipbuilding activity and transformation of the sector in our country. This sector is a strategic pillar of the economy due to its high driving capacity and job creation, as well as its clearly exporting nature.

It is estimated the shipbuilding sector generates an impact of 7,700 million euros on the economy and jobs for 70,000 families. Approximately 80% of the production of the shipyards is designed for exportation and shows the competitiveness of Spain in this market. Likewise, it is worth noting the high technological component used in the production of vessels with high added value, with increasingly sustainable operating systems.

During the signing ceremony held today, the Industry Secretary General, Francisco Blanco, stated that "this Agreement shows the commitment of the Ministry of Industry to the shipbuilding sector, by facilitating the financing the ships construction in our country, a commitment materialized also through other instruments, such as the shipbuilding sector PERTE, whose call was closed a few weeks ago, or the incentives for these companies R&D, among others”.

José Carlos García de Quevedo, President of the ICO, stressed that "To sign this agreement shows the commitment of ICO and PYMAR to promote, in collaboration with the private sector, the shipbuilding industry activity, a strategic pillar in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience due to its great tractor effect and employment generation capacity. The scheme through guarantees we deploy with this agreement will promote access to financing so that Spanish shipyards can continue developing their projects, reaching the highest standards of innovation and sustainability”.

In addition, Almudena López del Pozo, CEO of PYMAR, has shown her "gratitude to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, for maintaining its valuable official support for credits in our country for the construction and transformation of ships, as well as ICO, for its firm confidence in the national shipbuilding industry, which it demonstrates year after year both with the renewal of agreements, as well as with its invaluable participation in shipbuilding operations with the Spanish shipyards and PYMAR”.

PYMAR-ICO collaboration
This agreement reinforces the collaboration ICO and PYMAR have kept since 1995 to promote the shipbuilding sector activity and that has allowed 687 guarantee operations to be carried out for over 1,022.3 million euros, 79.5 million belonging to the 206 files in force. Throughout the validity of this program, a total of 24 financial entities, both national and international, have carried out operations. Thanks to support instruments such as this system of guarantees, a thousand ships construction have been supported from 2000-2022, among which are significant buildings as oceanographic vessels, deep-sea fishing vessels and support vessels at sea, all of them with worldwide recognized prestige in 25 Spanish shipyards.