Export Credit Office receives application

By KEVIN TAYLOR

Eight months after being set up, the Government's Export Credit Office has received just one application.

But other inquiries have been made about the export credit scheme that may result in more applicants, says a spokesman for Associate Trade Minister Pete Hodgson.

The spokesman said the office still expects three to five applications a year.

Launched after years of lobbying by exporters, the scheme ran into flak last November when it was revealed not a single application had been received in more than five months of existence.

The Government initially expected it to support export sales of at least $100 million annually.

The spokesman said yesterday that as of mid-February one application had been received but that was not surprising, particularly given that they tended to be complex deals.

He could not give details of the application until it was approved.

The scheme is designed to provide export credit guarantees to support firms with growth potential, and was developed after consultation with exporters.

It offers larger exporters medium to long-term trade credit insurance, allowing them to get bank finance. The scheme was targeted at four to five projects annually, averaging $15 million each.

Export Institute national president Murray Davies said the scheme had not been well marketed or understood by the Government. There was confusion about what it was supposed to do.

The institute had now offered to help distribute information on the scheme.

But Davies said that even then, it was aimed only at large exporters and offered nothing for smaller exporters.

"We still need to find ways to help the smaller exporter."

The Government appointed Eksport Kredit Fonden, the Danish Government's export credit agency, as its agent to operate the office.