The Coface Group Strengthens its Presence in Asia

The following release was provided by Business Credit Management UK. For additional information please visit, www.creditman.co.uk

The Coface Group, one of the world leaders in credit protection, is strengthening its presence in Asia with the establishment of a Shanghai subsidiary, Coface China; It also launches its @rating Solution, the first worldwide insurable company ratings system, in Beijing. The new operations are expected to bring significant advantages to UK companies, as Britain is already the leading European investor in China and trade between the two countries has increased significantly.

The Coface Group already has a direct presence in Asia – in Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore and South Korea – and also has partners in Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand. In addition, it is present in regions where China has a strong economic interest, including Europe (31 countries) and the US. The new operation will enable the Group to enhance its knowledge of Chinese companies for the benefit of its international credit protection (CreditAlliance) and business information (InfoAlliance) customers.

Due to its size and key economic position in Asia, China is a particularly important strategic market for the UK. Reforms introduced in China over the last two decades, including its application for membership of the World Trade Organisation, have facilitated the globalisation of its economy. Chinese external trade has grown significantly in the last year with UK exports to China increasing by 30% in the first six months of 2001.

In addition, China’s entry to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) next month will see a rise in these opportunities, as well as an increase in the challenges facing local companies, for example, ensuring the credit-worthiness of international trading partners will be of prime importance.

To take advantage of the opportunities available and to overcome the risks, companies will need to gain customer confidence, demonstrate their own reliability as trading partners and assess the viability of their commercial partners (prospective or existing). Thanks to the Coface Group’s @r @rating Credit Opinion (and monitoring) and the @rating Quality Label.

Coface China will also be working in partnership with Hua Xia International Business Credit Information (a member of the InfoAlliance network) and Kompass China International Information Service Co. in order to optimise its sources of local information and provide an improved service to customers worldwide. In addition, these partnerships will enable Coface to provide Chinese companies with access to a database comprising 50 000 products and services, as well as company contacts (suppliers or producers) and information reports in more than 70 countries.

About Coface UK Part of the Coface Group, the world leader in export credit insurance with over 78,000 clients in 99 countries, Coface UK specialises in flexible credit management services for British businesses, including domestic and export credit insurance, research into prospective buyers, credit information, customer monitoring and receivables management.

Coface UK’s range of credit insurance products includes Open Trader (for comprehensive cover) and Top Trader (for key clients), both designed for UK companies with turnover of over £3 million. For SMEs, Managed Trader and Cashflow Trader provide cost-effective cover for domestic and export trading, with the latter offering a unique, fully integrated credit management solution which guarantees payment of invoices at 65 days from the due date.

Our trader range of insurance products are all Global finance contracts – flexible modular policies that can be adapted to clients’ specific requirements, whether they need customer or country risk cover, and adjusts to whatever country or language they may be trading with.

Other insurance related financial products include single risk cover, duty deferment guarantees and travel bonds. As a member of the Coface Group, Coface UK clients benefit from access to three global networks, CreditAlliance, InfoAlliance and @rating, with information on 41 million companies worldwide.