ECGC eyes 20% growth in premium collection

The Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Limited (ECGC) is targeting 20 per cent growth in premium collection during this fiscal.

S Prabhakaran, executive director, ECGC, told Business Standard that the corporation achieved about 12 per cent growth in premium collection in 2005-06 at Rs 578 crore as compared with Rs 517 crore registered in the previous year.

"ECGC is expecting about Rs 700 crore premium revenue in the current fiscal," he added.

For the first time, the company has crossed the Rs 100-crore mark in dues recovery from other countries. It recovered Rs 87.57 crore and Rs 126 crore from other countries during 2004-05 and 2005-06 respectively.

The corporation recovered $13 million following negotiations with the Uganda government in 2005-06. "This year too, the company will get $12 million from the Uganda government as per the agreement," he said.

Prabhakaran said the company was making all efforts to recover large dues from Afghanistan and Iraq governments at the earliest. During the last fiscal, the corporation paid Rs 390 crore as claims to Indian exporters.

"Last fiscal, the corporation earned Rs 30 crore as premium by insuring projects abroad and is expecting Rs 50 crore this year as a number of Indian companies have taken up several large projects like roads and power in other countries," he added.

In order to expand the business, ECGC opened eight new branches across the country during the last fiscal. "This year, our thrust is to consolidate our branch network and business," he said.

According to him, of the 51 ECGC branches across the country, 31 have received ISO 9001:2000 certification. By the end of this fiscal, the remaining 20 branches would get the certification, he said.