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Export credit guarantees cover business worth €18.4bn in 2023
In 2023, the Federal Government provided export credit guarantees covering deliveries and services worth €18.4bn. By doing so, it made a key contribution to the reliability and security of the German export sector in uncertain times.
The projects covered by the Federal Government in 2023 included wind and solar energy, green hydrogen and the electrification of railway infrastructure.
As the instrument was further enhanced in 2023, providing support for small and medium-sized enterprises was once again a priority. By introducing the forfaiting guarantee, the Federal Government launched a product especially targeted at SMEs, which makes it easier to finance small-scale business (small tickets). It thus implemented a project agreed under the coalition agreement.
Emerging and developing countries accounted for more than 80% of the business covered in 2023. Many business activities cannot be realised in these countries require without government support.
Export credit guarantees: The target countries accounting for the highest volumes of the export business covered in 2023 were Turkey (€2.79bn), Egypt (€2.49bn), Angola (€2.01bn), Mexico (€1.21bn) and Saudi Arabia (€1.15bn). In Ukraine, business worth €170.5 million was covered.
High demand for investment guarantees – especially for projects in Ukraine
In 2023, the Federal Government provided €1.5bn worth of investment guarantees to protect foreign investments by German companies against political risks. The geopolitical environment last year once again proved challenging for German companies. As a result, a growing number of companies, especially SMEs, are making use of investment guarantees to protect their business as they target foreign markets. In 2023, for example, around two thirds of the guarantee holders received a guarantee for the first time, with SMEs accounting for 70% of the applications that were approved. This is the highest level in the history of the funding instrument.
In addition, climate-friendly projects and projects in 35 states, which are given preferential treatment under the diversification strategy passed in autumn 2023, will benefit from better conditions of cover.
Following the visit to Kyiv by Federal Minister Robert Habeck in April 2023, the government’s investment guarantee policy towards Ukraine was further normalised. Since the publication of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action’s press release of April 2023, stating that investment guarantees will continue to be available for Ukraine, the number of inquiries about investment guarantees from companies has seen a considerable increase.
The projects and applications which have received investment guarantees since then cover various sectors. However, the focus is on logistics, agriculture/food, construction (incl. construction materials) and renewable energy. In terms of the number of applications that were approved (22), Ukraine was the largest beneficiary of investment guarantees in 2023.
Investment guarantees: The target countries accounting for the highest volumes of the investment guarantees granted in 2023 were Peru (€880 million), Egypt (€265 million), China (€71 million), Namibia (€60 million) and Ukraine (€55 million).
investment guarantees of the Federal Republic of Germany, will be published on the website of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action in spring. Further information on respective export credit and investment guarantees can be found at www.exportkreditgarantien.de and www.investitionsgarantien.de.
Enhancing the approach to strategic projects abroad
The National Security Strategy aligns Germany’s foreign trade and investment guarantee toolbox to the goal of a diversification of supply chains. Under the diversification strategy and the climate strategy, these goals are fleshed out in more detail and further incentives are introduced.
By classifying flagship projects by German companies in other countries as ‘strategic projects abroad’, these can benefit from additional measures helping companies to offer high-quality products at competitive prices so they can compete with subsidised competitors. The projects are thus given special political backing in the context of economic diplomacy and benefit from even better funding terms.
A project is deemed ‘strategic’ when it can help German companies become firmly established in a special market or an important region and when there is considerable potential for development.
The instrument of strategic projects abroad has now been updated and fleshed out in more detail. The updated and more detailed approach to strategic projects abroad also seeks to reduce Germany’s dependence on raw material and energy imports and to strengthen climate action in the partner countries.
What’s new is that projects are now also recognised as ‘strategic’ if they contribute to decarbonisation and transformation at a large scale whilst being economically viable at the same time. By extending the programme in this manner, the Federal Government is facing up to the challenges and opportunities brought about by decarbonisation, diversification and transformation.
It emphasises that projects by medium-sized companies can also be deemed ‘strategic’ and receive the same special political backing as projects by large industrial companies. SMEs, too, can be market leaders in their field and, through their projects, help assert European standards and technologies in the target country in the long term.
The paper fleshing out the approach in more detail emphasises the fact that whilst the creation of value in Germany is an important aspect in the definition of ‘strategic’ projects, such projects also contribute to the sustainable economic development in the target country.
State Secretary Udo Philipp was appointed by cabinet resolution of 23 February 2022 as Federal Government Coordinator for Projects Abroad in the Strategic Interest of the Federal Republic of Germany. He heads the committee of Federal Government state secretaries tasked with the classification of projects.
Examples of projects that have been classified as ‘strategic’ in the last few years include the investments by German companies in railway projects in Morocco, Egypt and India, an electrification project in Iraq and the construction of the airport in Dubai. In a number of cases, the Federal Government was able to help these companies put together bids offering competitive financing by providing them with better terms for guarantees and fixed interest rate programmes, helping these companies to compete with rivals from other economic areas which often force their way into a market by offering very favourable financing terms.
Further Information
26/01/2024 - Online-Version -
Article:Weiterentwicklung der strategischen Unterstützung bei Auslandsprojekten
