Brasília – To expand the export base and supply the lack of credit for foreign trade operations, the federal government decided to expand the Export Financing Program (Proex) to companies with annual gross revenues of up to 600 million reals (US$ 257 million).
The program, previously turned to micro and small companies, now also includes larger businesses in the capital goods, pharmaceutical, chemical, textile and shoe sectors. The measure, by the Foreign Trade Board (Camex), was published yesterday (18) in the Federal Official Gazette.
"We need not only to increase the export base, but also to maintain the exporters who are on the market," said Lucia Helena Monteiro Souza, the director at the Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex), under the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. "The objective is to supply medium to large companies that already operate in international trade, but that are having a hard time finding financing," he explained.
With the expansion of the gross revenue limit from 300 million reals (US$ 128 million) to 600 million reals, around 20,000 companies throughout the country should have access to credit. The expectations by the Camex are that between 800 and 900 companies should use the line of credit, which makes available 1,300 million reals (US$ 556 million) in Treasury funds, disbursed by the Bank of Brazil, directly to companies, with a maturity of up to 10 years with Libor interest rates (interbank interest rates of London). "Our target is to use the entire budget. If necessary, the Ministry may fight for greater funds from the national budget," stated the Secex director.
The budget is the same as in 2008. Last year, however, just 70% of the funds were used by around 400 exporters. According to Lucia Helena, since 2003, when the Proex started targeting exclusively small and micro companies, funds have not been fully used. To change this picture, last year the Camex had already extended the limit of revenues of interested companies from 60 million reals (US$ 26 million) to 150 million reals (US$ 64 million) and, later, to 300 million.
He said that the Proex is of difficult access as it is more conservative in terms of guarantees. It requires, among other things, certificates showing lack of debt, bank guarantee and export credit insurance. To simplify the access to credit, the government is also changing the rules of the Export Guarantee Fund, which only covered financing longer than two years.
"We are creating another modality to supply the small and medium companies, for operations in less than two years. This is the sector that needs greatest guarantees and that has lower access to bank guarantees," he revealed. According to the director, the new modality should be available in two months. Despite the new rules, large companies, responsible for 80% of Brazilian exports, are still left out of the program.
*Translated by Mark Ament
