Crucial info protects against payment default

Dedicated resources provide valuable input on buyers
KEVIN MAYHEW
FOR ANYONE involved in exports, the credit risk of the buyer’s country is as important as that of the individual foreign buyers.
And analysing a country’s risk includes elements such as socio-economic factors and the political situation, according to the general manager – marketing of Johannesburg-based Credit Guarantee Insurance Corporation (CGIC), Roger Munitich.
Credit Guarantee, established in 1956, is the biggest credit insurer on the African continent, providing exporters with cover against payment default.
“We hold the largest repository of ‘buyer’ information in Africa, gained from numerous foreign sources. The company has its own dedicated resources that elicit crucial information about buyers in other countries that would ordinarily be denied to anyone.
“This information is then translated, processed and analysed by specialists who determine individual credit limits according to each individual client’s needs,” he said.
And it is not only that commercial risks (insolvency, protracted default and repudiation) and political risks arising in the debtor’s country are covered, but the depth of experience, knowledge and an ability to gather information all over the world that is invaluable to the exporter, he added.
In the event that something does go wrong and a foreign buyer defaults on payment, Credit Guarantee has a network of debt recovery agents and lawyers all over the world that provide a cost-effective means of instituting action against defaulting companies, he concluded.