Korea appears against Adani
More banks have ruled out any role in funding Adani's contentious Carmichael coal project.
Even though Adani says a slimmed-down version of its Carmichael plan is close to being funded, traditional owners have secured pledges from a trio of lenders including the Export-Import Bank of Korea.
The bank says it has been convinced that there was no longer any interest in the mega-mine.
Anti-Adani representatives of the Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) traditional owners are in Korea to lobby lenders including Mirae Asset Daewoo, which refinanced Adani's Queensland coal port earlier this year.
Adani is looking to fund a new scaled-down version of the project first touted to cost $16.5 billion, which it says can now get underway with an initial $2 billion.
The Export-Import Bank of Korea met with Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2016, at Adani's request, to discuss the project.
The bank has now written to the W&J Family Council last Thursday, ruling out lender interest in Adani from Korea.
“We would like to inform you that, the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) does not have any intent to provide financial support to the Carmichael project, since, as far as we know, there are not any Korean interests any more in the project,” it wrote.
The Korea Development Bank wrote on October 31: “We wish to express that we have no intent to provide finance for the project”.
“Please kindly be informed that, without any commitment, we reviewed the project upon a Korean client's request in 2014,” it said.
“However, we are no longer reviewing it.”
The Queensland Government says it will permanently wipe out native title claims to the mine site if Adani reaches “financial close”.
The W&J mine opponents have formally complained to the United Nations to protect their native title rights.
“Whoever assists Adani financially at this crucial time will become complicit in a grave breach of our rights, and the destruction of our lands and waters and sacred places,” W&J elder Adrian Burragubba said.
“They are also exposing themselves to financial risk because success in our Federal Court appeal due next year would deliver great uncertainty to investors.”