the Saudi Export-Import Bank (EXIM) has succeeded, during the past years, in providing credit solutions worth approximately SAR 9.3 billion ($2.5 billion) to exporters in the mining sector.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, EXIM Bank CEO, Eng. Saad Al-Khalab, said that the bank was one of the outcomes of Vision 2030, which aims to increase the ratio of non-oil exports to the gross domestic product.
The Saudi Export-Import Bank was established in Feb. 2020, with the aim to promote the development and diversification of Saudi exports and increase their competiveness in global markets across various sectors, by providing export financing, guarantees and export credit insurance services with attractive advantages.
The bank also seeks to enhance confidence in Saudi exports by supporting their access to new markets and reducing non-payment risk.
Al-Khalab told Asharq Al-Awsat that EXIM was able, over the past three years, to provide exporters in the mining sector with credit solutions at a value of SAR 7.5 billion ($2 billion).
He added that the bank has concluded a financing agreement with Trafigura, a market leader in the global commodities industry, to extend a three-year credit facility of $500 million, with the aim to facilitate the purchase of domestically produced commodities from Saudi Arabia and enable the company to connect Saudi producers to more than 156 markets worldwide.
“These amounts will be utilized during the current year, and they represent between 20 and 25 percent of the volume of the metals sector,” Saudi EXIM CEO stated.
He stressed that the bank, since its establishment, has provided credit solutions to exporters in the Kingdom exceeding SAR 33 billion ($8.8 billion).
Al-Khalab also noted that Saudi EXIM aims to fill financing gaps, reduce export risks, and confront challenges in financial liquidity, revealing that the bank has 17 financing and insurance products that benefit exporters and importers in other countries and financial institutions.
On the sidelines of the Future Minerals Forum held last week in Riyadh, under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi EXIM signed a memorandum of understanding with its American counterpart, which seeks to exchange expertise and benefit from experiences, as well as facilitate access to joint insurance operations and provide some credit solutions for American investors to import from the Kingdom.
