Credit management company enters SA market
Opening of South African office gives new impetus to the Africa Programme, the initiative launched by SACE in 2006 to support companies investing in the region.
SACE, the worldwide Italian credit management operator, has entered the South African market.
To date, SACE has achieved €490-million of new commitments in Africa as part of its Africa Programme with 65 transactions assessed in the last five months. The sectors addressed cover oil and gas, infrastructure and transportation.
The group will use South Africa as the entry point in southern and Sub-Saharan Africa. The SACE Group offers insurance cover in more than 150 countries and at present insures commercial transactions and financing worldwide for an overall value of about €32-billion.
This includes integrated credit management solutions such as the protection of investments, sureties and financial guarantees for commercial and financial transactions, as well as financial arrangements on projects and structured finance.
“The opening of a Johannesburg office confirms SACE’s special attention to the southern African region. SACE’s presence is intended to reinforce its support to Italian and foreign investors in the Sub-Saharan region, characterised both by strong potential and relevant investment opportunities,” said SACE country manager Michael Creighton.
“Our mission is to drive business expansion through risk management solutions based on local knowledge and individual understanding, ultimately treating our partners like clients and our clients like partners,” said Creighton.
The Africa Programme
The office will lay the framework of SACE’s Africa Programme, an initiative launched by SACE in 2006, to provide greater support for companies investing or exporting in the region through the implementation of more flexible terms of cover. SACE recently reassessed its cover policy towards this region, adopting a more open approach. In 2006, a new Africa Programme was launched to assist Italian enterprises in the African markets considering the growth of the region.
“Following years of political instability, most sub-Saharan countries went through a broad restructuring process, supported by the IMF/World Bank debt-relief initiative. Structural reforms helped to create a more favourable operating environment. Now some of these countries are experiencing sustainable growth,” added SACE head of Oil & Gas and Infrastructure, Ivan Giacoppo.
“SACE’s cover policy is related to the country’s political and economic situation, including progress made as far as the HIPC initiative is concerned. Our support is hence focused on priority projects and responsible lending,” he said.
South Africa is an important trading partner for Italy. In 2007 Italian exports to South Africa reached €1,5-billion. Italy’s major export sectors are mechanical engineering, electronics and electrical equipment, and chemicals. According to SACE’s forecasts on Italian exports, Italian sales to South Africa will increase by 8,1% per annum from 2008 through to 2012.
Italian exports to Sub-Saharan Africa increased 5,9% in 2007, a rate in line with the 5,7% growth in German exports but lower than the 11,1% average for Euro zone exports to the region for the same period.
“SACE strongly believes in the development of Africa and decided to open a new office in Johannesburg to support Italian and local business growth,” said Creighton.
“SACE is setting up an international network, based on foreign acquisitions and the opening of international offices in ‘key’ markets. SACE believes opportunities arise from understanding differences, cultural, economic and financial. That is why a local manager has been selected with long-standing experience and inside knowledge of the South African market and the credit export business,” said Giacoppo.
