LCI-news

On Thursday, October 21st, 2010, at the event organized by LCI at the Four Seasons Hotel, Beirut, FIMBank p.l.c. and Banque Piguet & Cie S.A. participated in a joint presentation to address FIMBank’s trade finance activities as well as its private banking and asset management services in collaboration with Banque Piguet.

Mrs. Margrith Lutschg Emmenegger, President of FIMBank, and Mr. Chris Preston, CEO of Banque Piguet gave an overview of their respective activities and answered the questions of LCI’s clients. Mr. Karim Nasrallah, Managing Director of LCI, has announced during his presentation, the capital increase of LCI Factors which was recently renamed LEVANT Factors.

FIMBank is based in Malta and is listed on the stock exchange. It specializes in trade finance, factoring and forfeiting in high growth emerging markets.

Banque Piguet is a 150 year-old Swiss bank providing highly personalized and effective investment services.

LEVANT Factors is a fifty-fifty joint venture between The Lebanese Credit Insurer and FIMBank which offers a variety of factoring products in Lebanon and the Levant region as well.

Export credit agencies and credit insurance companies gathered on September 28th in Zagreb, Croatia, for the Autumn 2010 Prague Club meeting. The Prague Club meetings are designed to exchange practical knowledge and experience in the field of export credit insurance for the benefit of all Club members. The members of the Club are agencies that are involved in insuring or guaranteeing export credit transactions, but do not yet meet the entrance requirements for the Berne Union. The Lebanese Credit Insurer s.a.l. (LCI) has been included as a Club member since 2009.

During the 3 day meeting, Factoring and the complementarities between Factoring and Credit Insurance was the main subject. Combining Factoring and Credit Insurance is in fact a helpful tool for company growth. Factoring provides liquidity and ensures continuous cash flow while Credit Insurance protects the company against bad debts. The company will hence be able to increase its sales safely.
Since 2001, LCI has supported industries and trading companies in the region through its credit insurance program, covering them against the payment default of their customers. LCI has also launched its factoring program in 2009 through LCI Factors which provides non-recourse factoring and a variety of other products such as reverse factoring and maturity factoring.

LCI’s main purpose is to encourage trade within and from the Mena region by providing Domestic and Export Credit Insurance as credit risk management tool.

In June 2010, Arabia Insurance and The Lebanese Credit Insurer s.a.l. (LCI) have finalized a cooperation agreement intended to jointly develop credit insurance in the regional territories.

LCI will bring technical know-how and expertise in underwriting the risks in the region, as well as Re-insurance support through Atradius Re; while Arabia Insurance will issue credit insurance policies in the 7 countries where it operates. Arabia will also give access to their corporate customers to credit insurance services.

Both companies are very keen on increasing the penetration of such a product in the region. Companies in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Sultanate of Oman, and the United Arab Emirates will benefit from credit insurance as it will help them grow and increase their sales while protecting it against bad debts.

The Lebanese Credit Insurer has participated on June 28 and 29, 2010 in a conference on “Reforming the Investment Climate in Lebanon” under the auspices and with participation of the President of the Council of Ministers Mr. Saad Hariri.

This conference was held in the Grand Serail and organized in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank with the participation of Minister of Finance Rayya al-Hassan, Minister of Economy and Trade Mohammed Safadi, Minister of Labor Boutros Harb, Minister of Administrative Development Mohammed Fneish, Minister of Justice Ibrahim Najjar, Minister of State Adnan Kassar, head of the Middle East Department at the World Bank Hedi Larbi, and many personalities.

The President of the Council of Ministers Saad Hariri presented the subject of improving the business environment in Lebanon, and a large number of Lebanese and international experts focused on the administrative, legal and financial flaws, as well as the political risk that destabilize the business development in Lebanon and consequently undermine the country’s competitiveness at the regional level.

The attendees suggested the establishment of a reform on many levels such as the cost of obtaining a building permit and of the creation of a business; the need to revise the laws specific to the arbitration and bankruptcy as well as the administrative delays and the major obstacles the importers and exporters are facing.

LCI has previously attended the workshops related to secure lending on June 17, 2010, where LCI’s expertise brought an important added value to the discussion. The Access to credits was also discussed during the conference. Key recommendations were suggested to modernize secured lending framework as Lebanon’s ranking on “getting credit” seems to be falling and the scheme for creditors needs standardization and clarity.

PM Hariri has finally promised to appoint a ministerial committee to follow up on the implementation of the discussed reform procedure.

On June 23, 2010, The Lebanese Credit Insurer s.a.l. was ranked number 12 in the “Lebanon Fast Growth 25”. During an event hosted by US Ambassador Michele Sison at the US Embassy, AllWorld Network (a global network whose mission is to expand the world’s entrepreneurial economy) announced the Lebanon 25 winners, a ranking of 25 of the fastest growing Lebanese companies.

The Lebanon 25 winners are credentialed as global growth entrepreneurs and become part of the AllWorld Network of winners from the US, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.  As a group, the Lebanon 25 are a force for transparency, providing audited statements to be accredited by AllWorld as global entrepreneurs. The winners have in fact been ranked on pure performance. The “Lebanon Fast Growth 25” brings to light fast growing Lebanese companies that represent the future of the country and that will help the Lebanese economy grow and build a more competitive and dynamic market through their energy and innovation. Together with its regional counterparts, namely top firms in Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and the UAE, the Lebanon 25 will be part of the Arabia Fast Growth 500 list, which will be announced the Spring of 2011 in Jordan.

June 23rd, 2010, Lebanon 25 showed recognition to LCI’s growth which is tremendously growing in the domestic market and who has also been expending in the regional market, and LCI will still aim for more.

Throughout their first joint meeting, twenty Arab and Islamic Export Credit Insurance Agencies (ECAs) launched the “Aman Union”, the first organization gathering investment and export credit agencies in the Arab and Islamic world. The launching was held in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 27 and 28, 2009, and was organized jointly by ICIEC and the Arab Investment & Export Credit Guarantee Corporation “Dhaman” in cooperation with the Lebanese Credit Insurer (LCI).

During the meeting, Ms. Kimberly Wiehl, the Secretary General of the Berne Union, delivered a keynote speech to the meeting on “measures taken by the Berne Union Members to face the impact of the crisis” which was followed by a lively discussion on the impact of the financial crisis on credit insurers. Senior executives from Arab and Islamic ECAs opened many topics and have mainly discussed the activities and new developments in their organizations following the influence of the financial crisis.

Mr. Karim Nasrallah, the General Manager of LCI, said on this matter in his welcome address that “no matter the debate, this financial crisis has had a positive impact on our line of business by creating more awareness for the product in our Regions and an increased demand for our services”.

The major aim of the union is to enhance cooperation among Arab and Islamic export credit institutions and to encourage the development of investment and export credit insurance in member countries.

During the event, LCI has invited all the participants and guests of the Arab and Islamic ECA’s meeting to a dinner at Fakhreddine Restaurant and has also organized a half day to a sightseeing tour of Byblos-Jbeil.

The joint ECA meeting was finally concluded by the signing ceremony that established the “Aman Union”.

Sliema  |  19.01.2012 – Malta-based Trade Finance specialist FIMBank plc recently brought together the CEOs of all its international factoring joint ventures to discuss corporate strategy and opportunities for growth within the context of the current global economic and financial scenario.

The CEOs who met in Malta included those heading joint ventures Egypt Factors, Levant Factors, India Factoring, FactorRus, BrasilFactors, fully-owned subsidiary MENA Factors, ROMFactor, as well as the locally-based Head of FIMBank’s Med Factors Department. The idea behind this meeting was to explore avenues for improving performance and establish effective ways to facilitate the cross-fertilisation of ideas within FIMBank’s global network. The meeting was also an opportunity for Gilbert Coleiro, Managing Director of FIM Business Solutions, to present developments in various technology and Business Process Outsourcing (BSO) services which this Malta based FIMBank subsidiary offers the network.

Commenting on the theme of this first Group Network Meeting, FIMBank President Margrith Lütschg-Emmenegger stated that “the current crisis has brought about more awareness about Factoring and the product’s ability to finance domestic and international trade while mitigating risks. Specialist banks and Factoring houses are taking advantage of this increased interest in Factoring by promoting the importance of this alternative financial solution and its advantages for both domestic and export-oriented businesses.”
She explained that many businesses are starting to factor their invoices to pay bills, take advantage of early payment discounts, increase sales, and last but not least, to fund their business’ growth. “Prior to the crisis, Factoring services, particularly in Europe, tended to be more focused on the finance aspect. The reality is that more customers are now viewing Factoring from a different perspective. They see the service as offering a potential means of managing risks and providing cash management solutions, over and above the funding aspect. This trend is growing, particularly for exports from emerging markets to the more developed ones.”

For further information about the FIMBank group please visithttp://www.fimbank.com

The Lebanese Credit Insurer is sponsoring the 2nd Annual Levant Region Trade & Export Finance Conference being held in the picturesque city of Beirut. The conference will bring together the local and international trade finance community to discuss key topics relating to opportunities and challenges that this traditionally significant economic region holds.

Having experienced a period of uncertainty surrounding domestic and intra-regional trade – mainly through the sustained economic impact of the Arab Spring – the resilience of many organisations operating in this market has proven to be unwavering, which has been epitomised by the strength of the local banking sector.

As the only dedicated trade finance event in the region, the conference will enable delegates to gain invaluable information from industry specialists during stand-alone presentations, engage with speakers during panel discussions and to see how peers are operating from specific case studies. Networking will also be a strong theme throughout the conference with regular networking breaks where essential new business contacts will be made.

Among the topics to be covered:

• To what extent is the current political climate affecting Levant trade today?
• Exploring SME case studies highlighting trade and funding challenges
• How much risk are trade financiers prepared to take?
• Value chain: Enabling financial institutions to effectively monitor and control assets
• Providing first-hand accounts of organisations operating in Syria
• How can traders reduce exposure while increasing access to funding?
• Understanding the impact of anti-bribery and corruption regulations on AML
• Financing the supply chain: A Jordanian experience
• The BPO: Streamlining the payment process
• Expanding support mechanisms through developmental funding
• Case study: How alternative funding methods can increase an exporter’s options

Who should attend?

• Trade, export and commodity finance heads and directors
• Corporate finance directors, CFOs and treasurers
• Insurance underwriters and brokers
• Export credit agencies
• Multilaterals
• Solution providers
• Lawyers and consultants
• Market analysts and policy advisors

There will also be a special evening reception following the conference where all delegates can continue the day’s discussions and engage in further dialogue in a more informal setting.

The Lebanese Credit Insurer (LCI), represented by Mr. Karim Nasrallah, General Manager of LCI, was invited to the 5th annual Egypt trade & export finance conference organized by Exporta. This one-day conference was held at the Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza in Cairo on Wednesday, 10th of October. The various panels were composed of members specialized in Banking, Credit Insurance and Factoring. The region’s senior corporate and banking decision makers attended this one-day conference to discuss the current trade environment and the opportunities offered by this exciting market.

Mr. Nasrallah explained the different opportunities present in that market and was part of the following panel:Mitigating risk and the growing appeal of trade credit insurance.

The Prague Club which was started in 1993 by the Berne Union is an information exchange network for new and maturing insurers of export credit and investment. The Prague Club supports members in developing their export credit and investment insurance schemes and facilities through twice yearly meetings discussions. Prague Club members were initially Central and Eastern European agencies; membership later expanded to include members from Asia and Africa. LCI has been admitted as qualified member during the Prague Club meeting in Cape Town, South Africa in October 2009. The Prague Club is today a prosperous entity, with 32 members from across the globe.

Nearly twenty credit insurance companies have gathered in Cape Town, South Africa for the Prague Club autumn meeting in November 2009. During this meeting, the Chairman welcomed Mr. Karim Nasrallah, the General Manager of the Lebanese Credit Insurer (LCI) who presented his company to all other Prague Club members. LCI currently has a co-operation agreement with the Arab Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (AIECGC), another Prague Club member, for the exchange of Debt Collection service; the agreement was signed in January 2009.

The meeting’s main discussion was about the global crisis and the impact on members’ business. A survey done during the gathering showed that LCI has not been negatively affected by the crisis. It has on the contrary profited by the crisis because of the market awareness it has created.

Furthermore, many other topics were also discussed and cases were presented by each company’s representative to share information about the various countries’ market. On the Lebanese market’s level for example, it is known that brokers are skilled and qualified in all lines of insurance except on the credit insurance level which is not yet well understood by brokers. LCI therefore created a training program where brokers can obtain a certificate in credit insurance.