New Zealand businesses will find it easier to grow their new offshore markets under a $100 million scheme announced by Economic Development Minister Pete Hodgson this morning.
Speaking at a breakfast to launch the Export Year Platform for the Future document and to reflect on the activities of Export Year 2007, Pete Hodgson said, “Export Year 2007 has set new levels of export ambition for us. Part of that is removing barriers that our businesses might encounter as they take Kiwi enterprises to the world.”
On 12 November 2007, Cabinet agreed to the New Zealand Export Credit Office offering two new products: a broader contract bond guarantee and a targeted short-term working capital guarantee. These guarantees will be provided to commercial bond providers and banks to enable them to support the additional growth of successful export companies.
The New Zealand Government delivering the specifically designed services that New Zealand business needs alone to export successfully.
ECGD, the Export Credits Guarantee Department, is the UK's official Export Credit Agency.
Among ECGD's objectives are to achieve the Financial Objectives set for it by Ministers, those Ministers being British ones not Welsh.
Neither does ECGD provide specifically designed services that Welsh business needs alone to export successfully.
All powers over export credit guarantee must be transferred to the Senedd - to fit in with Wales's economic policies designed to meet the needs of Welsh business alone.