French group Trade Credit to support SMEs

Coface Emirates Services, a subsidiary of the French Credit Insurance group Coface, multiplied its activities during the first part of 2012 and eyes more local SME’s to support their development through a debt protection Insurance. The Trade Credit Insurance (TCI) provided by Coface is a receivables management solution which facilitates Business to Business Trade by covering the losses generated by the non-payment of a trade debt. It covers many of the commercial and political risks faced by a business when selling goods in domestic markets, export markets or both. All Emirati companies selling goods or services on credit terms of up to 180 days are concerned, whether SMEs or Corporates (insurable Annual Turnover starts at Dhs10 million). According to Gregory Le Henand, Regional Business Development Manager of Coface Emirates Services said: “The UAE has become the hub of the Middle East and Africa Region, with 75 per cent of Fortune 500 companies establishing their regional headquaeters in the country. In 2011, 78 per cent of the UAE GDP has been exported to the Middle East, Africa and Asia region, mainly through Emirati SMEs. It is therefore crucial for the development of the economy to support this effort through the trade instrument that constitutes TCI”. Le Henand added that TCI also constitutes a great financing opportunity for local businesses: “it’s challenging for Emirati SME’s to obtain loans or other forms of financing from local banks, who have to deal with devaluated assets carried over from the real estate bubble, the ongoing financial crisis and the higher capital requirements of the Basel 3 regulations.” In this context of financing shortages, Coface Emirates developed several partnerships with local banks through the GCC: Emirates NBD, Commercial Bank of Dubai, Mashreq Bank, National Bank of Fujairah. These major lenders of the UAE economy partner with Coface to offer a financing solution to companies having credit insurance. In the UAE, the Trade Credit Insurance (TCI) is available through Coface local insurance partners NGI and Oman Insurance. Lehenand added that for the GCC region, Coface is headquartered in Dubai and also offers credit insurance through its partners in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain and Oman. Coface guarantees over $450 billion of customer debt in over 100 countries, and detains a database of over 60 million companies around the world with constant updates: payment experience, financial updates, seller experience.