Israel, Vietnam Step up Financial Protocol Implementation

Leading officials of the Israel Export Insurance Corp. Ltd. (ASHRA) paid a working visit to Vietnam and met with the Ministry of Finance, the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and the Vietnamese business community from March 15-19.

 

The visit is part of a programme to speed up the implementation of the Financial Protocol signed by the Israeli Government and the Vietnamese Government in August 2007. According to the protocol, the Government of Israel will provide soft loans with maturity of 8-10 years for Vietnamese enterprises using Israeli technologies. The maximum credit value is US$150 million but it can be higher if the two governments reach an agreement. Beneficiaries are Vietnamese small and medium enterprises and projects using Israel technologies.  

 

ASHRA and the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance are designated by the two governments to oversee the implementation of this protocol. ASHRA is a state-owned company in Israel. The company encourages exports through insurance of medium- and long-term export credit transactions (1 - 10 years) and overseas investments. ASHRA’s customers are assured up to 95 per cent for political reasons and 90 per cent for economic reasons. At present, ASHRA accounts for some 80 per cent of Israel’s market share of medium- and long-term export insurances in developing nations, mainly in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and South America.

 

According to the Israeli Embassy, this financial protocol will facilitate technology transfer and business cooperation between the two nations.

Lan Anh