Insurer Expands Export Support

KEIC signs reinsurance cooperation ties with Kuku of Poland, wins Trade Finance award for second year in a row

The Korea Export Insurance Corp. said it has concluded the reinsurance cooperation agreement with Kuku, a Polish export insurance organization, with President Yoo Chang-moo signing the instrument for the Korean side and Kuku President Piotr Soroczyski signing for the Polish side at the Culture-Science Palace in Warsaw on July 7, the company announced.
The announcement said President Yoo went to Poland as a member of President Lee Myung-bak's entourage and the agreement was signed to expand economic cooperation with Poland in the presence of Minister Lee Youn-ho of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.
Under the reinsurance cooperation agreement, the two signatories can share risks as they support overseas projects undertaken by businesses in either country through export insurance as well as reinsurance to those companies.
In the meantime, KEIC had a visit from Kimberly Wiehl, secretary-general of the Bern Union, who came to Seoul on July 14-15 to inspect the venue for the union's annual conference in Seoul at the Grand Hyatt Hotel from Oct. 11-17.
Wiehl said she was very satisfied with the selection of the Grand Hyatt Hotel as the venue of the conference for its accessibility and scenery surrounding the hotel, and members of the union have high hopes for the success of the conference as the agenda and programs have already been well prepared.
The Bern Union, established in 1934, has as members governments or their export insurance organizations and is a non-profit international organization with some 50 export insurance companies as its members, including those from the 29 member countries of the OECD.
They hold an annual conference every year to discuss and share information on world trade experience, know-how in issuing export credit, the global economy and major industrial issues.
For this year's conference, Pascal Lamy, secretary general of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and some 250 officials from various related world organizations including the IMF and World Bank will come to Seoul. They are expected to discuss such pertinent issues as the slowing of world trade from the global financial crisis, means to recover from it through the efforts of trace credit organizations and the financial order after the crisis is over.
Wiehl is a graduate of Middlebury College in the United States and earned an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in the United States. She assumed her current position in 2001.
In the meantime, KEIC has been named the Best Asian Export Credit Agency for 2009 for a second year in a row by Trade Finance, an international financial publication, which is issued by Euromoney, a renowned British publication on international finance.
Second place went to the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and third place went to Export Finance and Insurance Corp. of Australia. The winners were chosen by some 18,000 employees of global banks, trade credit companies and law firms through Internet voting during the two-month period.
Four of the projects concluded by KEIC last year were named Deal of the Year 2008, which was an indication that KEIC would win the honor this year.
The company plans to provide 24 trillion won worth of credit this year to such sectors as exploration of natural resources overseas, plant and shipbuilding, among projects related to the export of capital goods. The company plans to become a leading deal maker by building close connections with global financial organizations and project owners in search of projects to expand the chances for Korean firms' participation in those projects.
President Yoo said KEIC years ago expanded its financial support to plant construction, shipbuilding and other sectors that export capital goods, boosting its image in the world, leading it to win the Best Asian Export Credit Agency Award this year for the second year in a row.
Without a doubt, this was possible due to the tremendous efforts on the part of plant construction and shipbuilders who continue winning projects in overseas markets. nw

KEIC President Yoo Chang-moo holds a copy of the reinsurance cooperation agreement he signed with Kuku, the reinsurance company in Poland. Kuku President Piotr Soroczyski is to his right.Minister Lee Youn-ho of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy looks on behind.