PhilEXIM lowers fee rate

The Philippine Export-Import Credit Agency (PhilEXIM) has approved a package of measures that would reduce the cost to exporters in subscribing to its lending facilities.

PhilEXIM president and chief executive officer Eduardo Sergio G. Edeza said its board decided to bring down the processing fee charged by the company to its borrowers by as much 80 percent and lessens the documentation requirements for availments to the Export Credit Insurance (ECI).

From a cost of $200, Edeza said it was lowered down to P2,000 processing fee exporters subscribing to ECI.

"This is our contribution to the exporters, who need support to enhance their competitive advantage," Edeza said.

An exporter saves a substantial amount of P9,140 in processing fee from $200, which is about P11,140, using the exchange rate of P55.70 to a dollar, to P2,000 or 82.05 percent less.

ECI is one of the several facilities PhilEXIM offers to small-and-medium, including large export firms. It is a special guarantee product that provides comfort to both the exporter and the client.

Under this program, PhilEXIM protects the exporter against risk of non-payment of his offshore buyer by insuring up to 85 percent worth of the produce shipped to the client. It, too, allows exporter to sell on open account, CAD or D/A terms, putting him at par with his other exporters from the region.

Aside from the processing fee, the cost of enrolling a buyer – exporter’s client/s – to the ECI program was lowered to $60 per client from $75, for a 20 percent reduction or $25 savings each.

On the shortened documentation requirements, Edeza said exporters‚ application to ECI would be entertained by presenting their certificate of registration issued by either the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

"PhilEXIM is keeping its requirements to the minimum but without sacrificing the credit/account quality," Edeza explained.

Aside from ECI, PhilEXIM also offers financing assistance to small and medium sized exporters through term loan guarantees, direct loans of up to P5 million on a per transaction or credit line basis for working capital and up to P40 million for, among others, the purchase of machinery and equipment.