(ThisDayLive, Lagos, 30 August 2014) According to the managing director of Nigeria Export-Import Bank, Mr. Roberts Orya, “The non-oil sectors are now the key drivers of the country’s GDP growth, which is expected to rise to 7.3 percent in 2014 Nigeria’s rise above South Africa and Egypt in attracting foreign direct investment boils down to her frontier opportunities in various sectors such as power, infrastructure, agriculture, solid minerals, retailing and services. The job opportunities created by these robust economic prospects have been tremendous. No doubt, a private-sector driven economy has globally shown to be the panacea for job creation. It is against this backdrop that the Nigeria Export-Import Bank has not rested on its oars in ensuring that the nation’s private sector has the maximum support to thrive. In the services sector for instance, the bank has made total funding disbursement of N15.6 billion (US$95.2 million), which accounts for 16.4 per cent of total loan disbursement by the bank.
Index for September 2014
Volume 13, Issue 9
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(Hindustan Times Ludhiana, 5 September 2014) The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), Punjab Chapter, in association with Export Credit Guarantee Corporation Limited (ECGC) organised an exporter's meet here on Friday. SC Ralhan, regional chairman (north), FIEO, apprised the participants of the growing need of ECGC credit insurance cover keeping in view the unstable business conditions, including economic and political upheavals, in some parts of the world. He said they had an export target of 350 billion dollars in this fiscal year as set by the ministry of commerce and industry. He said bad payments or default in export payment receipts was a major hurdle and a global problem and more than 20 percent of the exporters in the country were facing this problem. He urged the ECGC officials to take up the insurance claims of genuine exporters in the country on priority basis.
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(Biofuel Digest, 12 September 12 2014) In the US, ethanol producers’ stocks took an enormous hit yesterday after Brazil announced it would offer an export tax credit on ethanol. Meantime, potential regulatory changes in the U.S. have already put ethanol makers under pressure. The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed cutting the amount of biofuels that refiners will be required to blend into gasoline. And in California, regulators have given Brazilian sugar ethanol a better greenhouse gas rating than corn-based ethanol produced in the U.S., making Brazilian imports more desirable. The Digest reported yesterday on Brazil’s credit, which will expand a tax credit to sugar and ethanol producers to spur demand for biofuel for the second time this month. Under the program, known as Reintegra, producers will receive a tax credit worth 0.3 percent of their exports.
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(Business Credit Management, London, 5 September 2014) UK Export Finance, the UK’s export credit agency, is inviting partners to apply to help it deliver £3 billion of export credit loans as part of its enhanced direct lending facility. The government department, which during the last five years has provided over 1,500 guarantees and insurance policies with an exposure value in excess of £14 billion, is setting up a panel of suitably qualified partner banks and/or financial organisations to help arrange and administer the direct lending facility (DLF) export credit loans. Under the DLF, UK Export Finance (UKEF) will provide loans to overseas buyers in order to finance the purchase of goods and services from UK exporters. Loans are available to cover new international sales by any business exporting from the UK, to any country where UKEF medium term cover is available, and can be made in Sterling, US Dollars, Euro or Japanese Yen.
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(Fresh Business Thinking, London, 23 September 2014) "Commercial finance and liquidity may be readily available at the moment, but the aviation sector also needs to consider capital markets as a source of future funding," that is the message UK Export Finance’s Head of Aerospace, Gordon Welsh, delivered yesterday (Monday) to delegates at International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT) Conference in Istanbul. UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK’s export credit agency, supports UK exporters with a range of insurance, guarantees, and direct lending facilities that complement funding available from the commercial sector. The aviation industry is a very important sector to UKEF. Anticipating a debate about the relative merits of commercial debt compared to use of capital markets for the aviation sector, Mr Welsh believes that while commercial debt is currently attractive to the aviation sector, ahead of the introduction of Basel III and adoption of its leverage ratio, capital markets have the potential to offer stability in both liquidity and pricing. Welsh noted: "There is a clear role for export credit agencies in the future funding of the aviation sector. By filling the gaps in private sector finance provision we increase capacity. "With successful products already supporting the industry, we can also take a long term view, working closely with our French and German colleagues and considering innovative features such as pre-funded bonds that can be structured, or instant bonds capable of being issued on a drawdown basis. These are initiatives with the potential to help secure the future of the aviation industry."
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(Reuters, New Delhi, 16 September 2014) India and Vietnam have deepened military cooperation over the past decade. India extended a $100 million export credit to Vietnam for defence deals and tightened energy ties on Monday. India and Vietnam have deepened military cooperation over the past decade and under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is pushing ahead with a new strategy to establish itself as an arms exporter using export credits to leverage foreign sales.
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(Hindu Business Line, Mumbai, 1 September 2014) The State Bank of India (SBI) and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) signed a dual-currency loan agreement of $152 million. “The loan is co-financed with the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd amounting to ¥13.5 billion ($131 million) and $21 million approximately. The total co-financing amount came to $152 million,” an SBI official said. This is the third time that SBI has participated with JBIC in a project funding. The bank, in a statement, said this credit line will be utilised by Meja Urja Nigam Pvt Ltd (MUNPL) to finance the procurement of steam turbine generator equipment from Japan’s Toshiba Corporation and its subsidiary in India, Toshiba JSW Power Systems, to construct a super critical pressure coal-fired power plant (660MWx2 units) in Uttar Pradesh.
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(Fresh Fruit Portal, Santiago, 3 September 2014) The Polish government has lowered the export insurance rate in a bid to encourage suppliers to find new markets for produce banned from Russia, while also helping to ease the financial pressures of exporting in the wake of the blockade. Working with the Export Credit Insurance Corporation, Poland’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has announced a 20% discount on insurance to a raft of countries, including large markets such as the Middle East and China. However, the discount only applies to produce that is currently part of the Russian embargo and for Polish producers and suppliers this is mainly apples, cabbage, peppers and sprouts.
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(Farmers Journal, Dublin, 22 September 2014) A report published by Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney today shows that the country is on track to meet the Food Harvest 2020 target. The target of reaching €12bn worth of agri-food exports by 2020 is still achievable. The report states that a number of issues, including access to increased credit as well as the opening of new markets need to be addressed. As the primary focus of Food Harvest 2020 is driving exports, the report says that great supports should be given to exporters. “Government should consider the specific needs of the food and beverages sector in its deliberation on short term export credit insurance scheme.”