The Serbian Export Credit and Insurance Agency (AOFI) is the oldest, largest and most secure domestic insurer of exports. In its first year of operations, back in 2005, it approved the first six loans for Serbian exporters, while today there it has 288 clients and covers 188 countries with credit insurance
The AOFI isn’t a bank, though we provide similar products and use similar tools and techniques. One of our services is “ino-factoring”, which helps exporters resolve liquidity issues and enables them to achieve the best possible position on a foreign market.
The AOFI is the Republic of Serbia’s only official export credit agency. What can of position do yo have in international frameworks?
Official export credit institutions (ECAs), like the AOFI, have a role in helping their national economies to grow in the country, on the one hand, and in helping domestic companies to succeed on the international front.
Moreover, by working together as a global network, export creditors worldwide share knowledge and help in the maintaining of international trade, which is also one of the goals that the AOFI needs to realise in its mission.
AOFI, as an active member of the Berne Union – the International Union of Credit & Investment Insurers, strengthens its position, and consequently the position of the Republic of Serbia, by following the direction and guidelines of the Government of the Republic of Serbia.
As a result of our work, we achieved our appointment as the chair of the Prague Club, one of the committees of the Berne Union. We signed and implemented several agreements with world-renowned state insurers during 2018, such as China’s Sinosure and Austria’s OeKB and OeEB, and we want to continue this growth trend during this year by strictly respecting the interests of the Government of the Republic of Serbia.
We signed and implemented several agreements with world-renowned state insurers last year, such as China’s Sinosure and Austria’s OeKB and OeEB, and we want to continue this growth trend
You also directed operations several years ago towards international factoring, while this year you’ve further improved that service. Has that eased or solved the problem of liquidity that our exporters often face?
Reducing the foreign trade deficit is one of the economic goals of the Government of the Republic of Serbia. And the AOFI, as the official export credit agency of the Republic of Serbia, is tasked with using its products and services to contribute to achieving this end. One of the services is also secure ino-factoring, which should help our exporters resolve their liquidity issues, on the one hand, and enable the achieving of the best possible competitive position on our market by extending payment deadlines for our customers, on the other. We improved results in this field during the course of 2018 and certainly contributed to the growth of Serbia’s exports.
Wherein lies the advantage of the AOFI compared to banking services?
The AOFI, as an export credit agency that’s owned by the Republic of Serbia, is not a bank, though we offer similar products and use similar tools and techniques. We strive to be competitive on the market, but that isn’t our goal in and of by itself – rather our goal is to increase the competitiveness of our clients on foreign markets. That’s precisely why our approach to clients encompasses the broader picture, and thus increases the space for support, which I consider as being one of our greatest advantages compared to banks.