In The Zone Conference | Keynote Address: Tadashi Maeda

Thank you. I'm very grateful to Gordon and the sponsors of this important event for inviting me. Governors, ambassadors, excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. I come from the country that hosted the Rugby World Cup, and you know the leading countries of the G7 and G20. As Gordon Henry introduced, I am Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, 100% owned by the Japanese government but autonomously managed. We have many financing products: debt financing and equity investment, and a long history financing Australia, especially in mining, natural resources, natural gas, and critical minerals. As many speakers have noted, critical minerals are vital for the transition to a low-carbon economy—for batteries, next-generation batteries, electric vehicles, and materials like cobalt, lithium, nickel, and rare earths. The challenges in securing supply chains include not only mining but also refining capacity; volatility; and some countries trying to capture the entire supply chain. We experienced the 2010 crisis when Chinese leaders suddenly constrained rare earth exports, sending prices up by 10,000%. That is a huge risk. Commercial entities in many countries use state-sponsored enterprises, making it hard for private sectors to compete. Let me briefly explain the Japanese government's position on securing a full supply chain of critical minerals. The challenges stem from uneven distribution. For example, 60% of cobalt upstream resources are in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a difficult place for private investment. In refining capacity, China now dominates. So the private sector faces real vulnerabilities. In June 2019, the Japanese government decided to engage the public sector to secure these supply chains. JBIC plays a key role, along with partners and state-owned companies. We have two directions: first, provide financing to support private sector activities, mitigate market risk, and strengthen international competitiveness. For example, JBIC provided financing for upstream and refining of nickel and cobalt in Madagascar, a high-risk country. Also, our sister institution JOGMEC is working with trading companies and Australian companies on lithium production in Argentina. Second, we promote recycling. Japanese companies like Sumitomo Metal Mining have established technologies to capture nickel and cobalt from used batteries for recycling. Other Japanese companies have different technologies. These are the two major approaches. Finally, I refer to the Indo-Pacific. Together with our partners Australia and the United States, we signed a memorandum of cooperation in November 2018 with the US agency OPIC (now US-DFC), the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Export Finance Insurance Corporation. We sent joint missions to Papua New Guinea, Palau, and other South Pacific countries. Most recently, we dispatched a joint mission to Indonesia to deploy quality infrastructure, including submarine cables. We will enhance this trilateral partnership further and make announcements at the APEC meetings in Bangkok and other occasions. At the same time, we coordinate with China. We signed a memorandum with the China Development Bank for projects in third countries, offering five conditions: transparency, inclusiveness, project viability, debt sustainability, and the rule of law. China accepted all five, and we are now cooperating on projects in Thailand and others. Our hope is not to contain China but to include China as a partner. We are demonstrating strong partnerships with the United States and Australia not only in infrastructure but also in mining and refining of critical minerals. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your attention. And thank you again, Dr. Professor Kornfield, for inviting me to this very important conference. Thank you so much.