Washington, D.C. – The board of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) authorised a US$118 million direct loan to the government of Vietnam for the export of a Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company telecommunications satellite and additional goods and services.

The Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), a state-owned enterprise headquartered in Hanoi acting on behalf of the government of Vietnam in the transaction, hopes to satisfy the growing demand of telecommunications and television markets emerging in the region.

The loan, which represents Ex-Im Bank’s first satellite transaction with the government of Vietnam, supported approximately 525 full-time equivalent American jobs, according to Lockheed Martin estimates, and financed export sales totalling $215 million.

“As one of our nine key markets, Vietnam affords American companies unique export opportunities,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. “These opportunities promote economic growth in both countries, which in turn supports American jobs in vital U.S. industries.”