Press Articles & Publications

"Supporting Today's Exporters."

Helpdesk

Latest News and Frequently Asked Questions.

As soon as our Help Desk opened we were busy with enquiries from clients.  Here are some examples of the range of questions we were asked and our advice in response.

A major capital goods manufacturer is negotiating a contract in an African country. The buyer is a major international company and requires payment terms over 3 years.
The exporter has several options and the main issues are down to ‘how the payment risk can be protected and the cost’ and the time taken to establish the facility.
ECGD is an option with cover available in the country concerned. The cost of cover is fairly high although finance can be arranged through a general purpose line of credit (GPLOC) facility with one of the banks under ECGD’s agreement.
Insurance cover is available through the private insurance market but again there are capacity constraints and premiums are high.
The most cost effective solution is to establish a bank that has Country Capacity and is prepared to underwrite the risk on the buyer.
This method of financing will only work if the end buyer is a major international company and banks have capacity. This was the fastest solution and the bank also was able to issue letters of credit to cover the purchase.
Small manufacturing company is seeking a credit facility with their bankers. The capital of the company is small and banks are reluctant to provide working capital.
The company had depreciated the plant and equipment over the last ten years and this contributed to the erosion of the balance sheet. We suggested that they should arrange a revaluation of the assets. The valuation must be undertaken by a recognised professional valuer. The resultant valuation increased the balance sheet by £250,000 and the company was able to obtain a working capital facility from their bankers.
A trader was buying equipment from South America and selling into a single debtor in Europe. The trader had credit insurance and wanted to increase turnover by increasing markets and sales into the existing buyer.
The main problem with this trader was that he had a single debtor. Many UK banks and invoice discounters are reluctant to finance a single debtor. However, by arranging credit insurance and changing the payment process from open account to bill for collection with a bill of exchange drawn on and accepted by the buyer, we were able to provide finance for the supply contract.

 

White Papers

As part of our information services and consultancy for clients we provide a number of white papers and other literature on key subjects in finance and international trade.

Two samples of these white papers can be found through the following links:-

Top