Italian company, Sace buys into African Trade Insurance for $10m
Italian credit management company Sace has acquired a stake in African-owned development finance institution African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) for $10-million.
ATI has its head office in Kenya and its current members are Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
Sace’s investment will support ATI in fostering sustainable growth in Africa and ATI will strengthen Sace’s support for Italian
exporters and investors.
Sace COO Raoul Ascari says the investment is “another step forward” in bolstering the company’s presence in sub-Saharan Africa.
Last year, Sace reinforced its activities in sub-Saharan Africa through the opening of an office in Johannesburg.
The Sace group offers insurance cover in more than 155 countries and currently insures commercial transactions and financing worldwide for an overall value of about €46-billion.
This includes integrated credit management solutions, such as the protection of
investments, sureties and financial guarantees for commercial and financial transactions, as well as financial arrangements on projects and structured finance.
To date, Sace has achieved about €847,6-million in total guarantees as part of its Africa programme, with 51 transactions in Angola, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania.
“The partnership with ATI will allow us to develop new business and will provide a
valuable risk-sharing platform.
“Our objective to support the presence of Italian companies on the continent through sustainable transactions will be greatly
enhanced,” explains Ascari.
ATI acting CEO Stewart Kinloch says the company is “delighted to welcome Sace as a member”.
“Italian companies play an important role on the African continent and this historic milestone reflects the will of both Sace and the Italian government to further strengthen and support these investments and trade flows.”
Sace sub-Saharan Africa head Michael Creighton tells Engineering News that the company believes that ATI is an important strategic partner because of where the company is located.
“They have an important role to play, which further enhances value for our African programme,” Creighton notes.
He adds that ATI has knowledge about Africa that Sace does not have, and both companies will be able to share political risk in the region. Other collaboration opportunities, such as products, training and technology, will be explored.
Source: Engineering News