Welcome 
to your financing expert for the Southeast Asia & Bangladesh region

You have been in Singapore for a few weeks as a financing expert. What first impressions have you gained during this time?

The ASEAN region with 646 million inhabitants is one of the fastest growing economic regions in the world. The GDP growth rate in 2022 was 5 percent. This makes the region very interesting for German exporters. Total trade between ASEAN and Germany reached 85.1 billion US dollars in 2022.

Our German exporters therefore have many local companies as customers in the ASEAN region. With regard to the financing of the respective export delivery, many discussions with the local buyer are often necessary in advance. Our exporters really appreciate the fact that I am on site and are happy to take the opportunity to visit their local customers with me and discuss ECA-covered financing options together.

How do local companies and banks react when they hear the word export credit guarantees from the federal government?

Some local companies and banks already have experience with federal export guarantees. They are aware of the advantages, such as long terms, lower average borrowing costs or flexibility in terms of transaction size and financing structure. They would like to use these advantages again for their next business with German exporters.

New customers of German exporters, on the other hand, are often unaware of ECA-covered financing and its advantages. In this respect, the joint exchange, the explanations on federal export guarantees and the answers to all questions in this context are of particular importance.

A few days ago you were at the export finance fair in Jakarta. What were the dominant themes there?

We organized the export finance fair in Jakarta together with the Austrian Kontrollbank (OeKB) and Swiss Export Risk Insurance (SERV). Together with the participants, we discussed the various options and strategies for optimizing trade flows. In view of global economic risks and geopolitical uncertainty, it is very important to establish close economic relations and promote all bilateral trade and investment opportunities. Qualified financial instruments and the use of export instruments provided by state export agencies are therefore of particular importance.

How do you assess the economic situation in Indonesia?

The Indonesian economy is currently facing major economic challenges. Nevertheless, the outlook is positive. Indonesia offers a wide range of opportunities for infrastructure companies. One of the most important and largest projects is "Nusantara Capital City (IKN)" in East Kalimantan. IKN will be the future capital of Indonesia. The city is being planned and built from scratch. There are various export opportunities here for exporters from all three European countries. Indonesia also has the goal of achieving climate-neutral status by 2060. The industrial transformation and conversion to green technologies is already in full swing and offers enormous potential for European technology leaders.

Were you able to take away any direct points of contact from the trade fair?

Definitely. We had some very interesting discussions. Indonesian companies, banks and state-owned enterprises had the opportunity to learn about export promotion instruments at the conference. Following our conference, I will intensify contacts and discuss ECA financing options in detail.

Euler Hermes was there with a large delegation. Why is a trip like this important?

Our large delegation on site was very well received by the more than 200 participants. It underlined how important it is for us to cooperate with Indonesian companies and local banks. In addition, the face-to-face meetings and the associated exchange are highly valued. Every conversation helps us to understand the market, economic development and special features even better.

In addition to the German ECA, the Swiss and Austrian ECAs were also in Jakarta. Basically, what do Western European ECAs need to pay more attention to if they want to be successful in the East Asian region?

The Asian ECAs are - for historical reasons - better known in this region. In this respect, conferences such as the one we held in Jakarta are important in order to raise our profile. We are therefore planning further conferences in the region in the future. The joint presence of European ECAs is also important. Often, ECA-covered financing with suppliers from all three countries can only be carried out if we work with reinsurers, for example.

Please complete the following sentence. After a year as a financing expert, I would like to be able to say that I ...

... have profitably supported many export transactions locally, have been able to further increase awareness of the Federal Republic of Germany's export credit guarantees in Southeast Asia and Bangladesh and am known as the local representative of Euler Hermes for German exporters, local buyers and banks.