KHALEEJ TIMES, Monday, Mar 29, 2021 | Shaaban 15, 1442
ADFD allocates Dh735m to Abu Dhabi Exports Office in 2021
Emirates:
The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) Board of Directors approved
the allocation of Dh735 million ($200 million) for Abu Dhabi Exports Office
(ADEX) to accommodate export financing that will help spur the growth of
exports of UAE national companies.
The 2021 budget allocation increased by 33.3 per cent, with Dh184 million ($50
million) over the 2020 export development budget and will be used to directly
support transactions with overseas buyers of goods and services of UAE origin
while contributing to the expansion of the national export economy.
ADEX was established by Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) to provide loans
and credit guarantees to foreign importers of non-crude sector goods and
services from UAE companies, with payment made directly to the UAE national
company upon successful delivery on contract terms. In its first full year of
operation in 2020, ADEX committed Dh500 million ($136 million) against the
allocation budget to overseas buyers to meet their procurement needs from UAE
exporters.
Providing qualified overseas buyers with access to competitive export financing
gives UAE companies a powerful strategic advantage, particularly in the current
economic environment when access to commercial financing is more challenging and
expensive in many emerging global markets. It also reduces the risk and
financial exposure of UAE exporters on international transactions, enabling
companies to safely expand into strategic growth markets.
Access to export financing will also contribute to advancing the new Operation
300 billion and Make It In The UAE comprehensive programme to more than double
the value of the output of the national manufacturing and industrial sector in
the next 10 years.
Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of ADFD and Chairman of the Executive
Committee of ADEX, said: “The newly announced Make It In The UAE initiative
reinforces the strategic importance of our manufacturing and industrial sector
to our future sustainable economic development strategy. The growth and
diversification of our manufacturing capabilities will bring with it the
opportunity to continue to expand the UAE export economy. UAE manufacturers can
leverage the financial support and protection of ADEX to grow their
international operations at a time when overseas buyers continue to face supply
chain disruption and liquidity challenges and immediately contribute to our
national Operation 300bn goal.”
Over the past year ADEX worked together with a wide range of strategic partners
across the UAE to educate business leaders on how to access and leverage export
financing as a catalyst to accelerate economic recovery in the wake of the
global lockdown and massive supply chain disruptions.
ADEX co-hosted workshops with Departments of Economic Development and Chambers
of Commerce across the Emirates as well as a broad range of strategic partners
that share a responsibility for supporting the growth of UAE businesses. In
addition to these forums, ADEX financial services specialists provided UAE
companies and their overseas buyers direct counsel on how to access export
financing to overcome cash flow challenges and successfully close mutually
beneficial transactions.
With the UAE leading the way on the global vaccine rollout and showing clear
signs of economic growth, Saeed Al Dhaheri, acting director-general of ADEX,
believes that exporters are strongly positioned for success now and in the years
ahead and are well supported by the nation’s highly diverse and active export
community support network.
Al Dhaheri said: “Our nation’s exporters are now better equipped to understand
how to leverage this new Dh735 million ($200 million) in export financing to
expand international operations. We encourage our business leaders to partner
with ADEX to help increase their attractiveness as a global trade partner, add
significant value to their overseas buyers and more effectively capture market
share in key international markets. Through ADEX and the full UAE export support
community, we are very confident that our national export economy will continue
to grow and prosper in 2021 and long into the future.”
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