ECGC gears up

Venkatachari Jagannathan
15 June 2004

In line with the market requirements, ECGC is in the midst of launching new products. Says chairman & managing director P M A Hakeem, "By the end of this July we will be launching our new policy targeted at the software exporters."

Software exporters face unique risks like intellectual property, visa/immigration issues like name sounding similar to banned persons. "We have identified such risks and tailored our policy," he adds.

The other product that is in the pipeline is the policy for consignment exporters (Indian companies that ship goods to their overseas warehouses). According to Hakeem, the company recently launched a policy to cover risks involved in project exports targeting domestic companies that win overseas construction projects.

ECGC has also expanded its distribution network by opening eight branches taking the total number to 38 branches.

Last fiscal the company booked a total premium of Rs444 crore and an investment income of Rs120 crore. The profit before tax stands at Rs93 crore.

However the high losses under the credit guarantee to banks (Rs400 crore) and the insolvency of overseas buyers (Rs55 crore) resulted in ECGC booking an underwriting loss (simply put, premium minus claims paid and expenses).