Etihad Credit Insurance ties up with investors council to support UAE exporters

The preliminary agreement will help open new markets for investors, offering them a wider array of export opportunities

Etihad Credit Insurance and the UAE International Investors Council are partnering to support investments of Emirati businesses abroad. Victor Besa / The National.

Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI), the Emirates' federal export credit agency, is partnering with the UAE International Investors Council (UAEIIC) to support investments of the country's businesses abroad and further boost exports globally.

The preliminary agreement signed by the two organisations will offer UAE investors a wider array of export opportunities, backed by a range of financing and investment insurance products, ECI said in a statement on Sunday.

Both ECI and UAEIIC are mandated to accelerate the national economic diversification efforts and improve the competitiveness of UAE businesses operating in the country and abroad.

The agreement "aims to further strengthen the competitive advantage of UAE investments, businesses and exports in the international market," Massimo Falcioni, chief executive of ECI, said.

The partnership is in line with efforts to support the growth of the national economy and "achieve our long-standing mission of positioning the UAE as the global hub for trade and investment", he added.

ECI and UAEIIC will also partner with financial institutions in projects that require additional financing, structured trade finance, project finance, as well as supply chain finance.

"Our main goal is to protect Emirati investments abroad, by enhancing the global presence of companies and evaluating their opportunities for expansion in regional and global markets," said Jamal Saif Al Jarwan, secretary general of the UAEIIC.

Established in 2018, the ECI provides export guarantees and trade insurance to UAE companies to minimise some of the payment risks associated with exporting.

The ECI extended Dh420 million ($114.3m) worth of trade credit support to small and medium enterprises in the first 11 months of 2020 to help companies protect liquidity amid the coronavirus-induced economic slowdown.

In April last year, ECI rolled out measures to support exporters affected by the pandemic, easing payment and supply chain disruption issues.