Sasfin Premier records 180% growth

Sasfin Premier Logistics in the Eastern Cape has seen its new client business grow by over 180% since the company became part of Sasfin Commercial Solutions in March 2012. “Our clients are seeing tremendous benefits through the bundling of the services and the synergies of companies under the Sasfin Commercial Solution umbrella,” says Craig Jacobs, regional manager of Sasfin Premier Logistics in the Eastern Cape. Sasfin Commercial Solutions was formed in 2012 after Sasfin Bank acquired 100% shareholding in Premier Freight and the IQuad Group. “We are now able to provide a comprehensive start-tofinish foreign trade solution to our clients,” says Allan Corbett, managing director of Sasfin Commercial Solutions (Global Trade). These services include handling duty refund claims, rebate store administration, customs consulting, export VAT compliance, training and claiming of the motor industry incentives. Sasfin also offers a specialised software solution to exporters called “Process Assist”. “We are always looking out for areas in which exporters have difficulty and we modify our export software solution or expand our service offering to assist exporters to deal with these problems. For example, many retailers who export products have great difficulty recovering import duties paid on these items. “We have developed the functionality to assist exporters in claiming their duties back,” says Corbett. Subsidiary company Export Credit Exchange (ECE) is adapting its platform through which automotive exporters trade the Import Rebate Credit Certificate (IRCC) generated from their Motor Industry Development Plan (MIDP) claims to accommodate the Production Rebate Credit Certificate (PRCC) under the new Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP). First Forex, which has its national dealing room in Port Elizabeth, was established in 2012 to assist small to medium business involved in global trade to obtain “competitive exchange rates and to manage administration of their forex flows”. It now has over 120 clients and handled R1 billion in forex flows over the past year says Corbett. Sasfin Incentives helps qualifying companies to access investment incentives from the Department of Trade and Industry. Exporters and investors in the Eastern Cape are using this suite of services to help their businesses grow. The company has seen exports by both sea and air increase by over 130% since the formation of the group, according to Jacobs. Much of this growth has been in the export of frozen agricultural products from the Eastern Cape. A specialised division within Sasfin Premier Logistics handles the perishable exports, which will include citrus and stone fruit from 2014. INSERT We have developed the functionality to assist exporters in claiming their duties back. – Allan Corbett