Agency reinforces the Push Strategy programme to increase commercial opportunities for Italian exporters
Alongside COP28, SACE, Italy’s Export Credit Agency, recently brought together the leaders from top-tier companies and financial institutions of the Gulf area to discuss the needs and solutions to support sustainable trade and finance.
In this framework, SACE will present its new ESG Strategy: a re-evolutionary roadmap that progressively integrates the Environmental, Social, and Governance criteria in SACE business model, to channel SACE impacts towards a sustainable growth path.
Italy-GCC trade & business potential
In 2022, Italy’s exports exceeded the value of EUR 600bn, operating in a wide range of sectors, including high-tech machineries, agrifood, new technologies and high-end consumer products. Italy’s supply chain represents a unique industrial model in the global landscape, in which large champions and a multitude of SMEs work together to guarantee high value-added goods.
COP28 highlights the need of massive capital investments for the Gulf countries in the energy transition field and, at the same time, new business opportunities for Italian exporters are arising.
The event ‘SACE ESG Re-evolution: a Push towards a Sustainable Future’ is intended to be as a platform to link the Italian know-how and expertise with the ambitious plans of the Gulf countries towards sustainability.
In the GCC, the potential growth of Italian export is mainly driven by the UAE (EUR 6bn in exports in 2022), Saudi Arabia (EUR 4bn), and Qatar (EUR 3.4bn), showing interesting dynamics with respect to the green projects, such as electrical equipment and machinery.
SACE presence, activities, and operations in UAE & GCC Region
SACE has a presence in the UAE since 2016 with an International Office (currently located in DIFC-Emirates Financial Towers), representing a strategic hub for all the GCC countries. SACE’s presence in the GCC has been recently reinforced through the opening of the Riyadh Office in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
SACE is currently working on a EUR 8.7bn pipeline in the GCC Region, in strategic sectors for the Italian supply chain, such as Renewables, Infrastructures and Constructions, Logistics, Food and Beverage and Energy.
In 2017, SACE launched the Push Strategy programme aimed at increasing the commercial opportunities for Italian exporters in strategic and growing markets. Through the Push Strategy, SACE guarantees medium-to-long term financing in favour of top-tier foreign buyers.
In the GCC, SACE finalised Push Strategy transactions with five big players BEE’AH, BAPCO Energies (former Noga Holding), Archirodon, for a total of EUR 2.7bn and arranged over 600 business matching activities (in person, both in Italy and overseas, as well as online) involving 1,700 Italian SMEs.
Below is a successful story alongside key GCC players:
BEE’AH: In 2022, SACE finalized a Push Facility in support of the investment plans of BEE’AH, aiming at facilitating the development of commercial relationships between the Emirati company and Italian businesses and increase procurement from Italy in the coming years.
Based in Sharjah, BEE’AH is the leading company in the United Arab Emirates in the waste management sector. It manages all stages of the waste cycle including collection, recycling, disposal, and waste-to-energy processes – in the Emirates and other countries within its concession area.
The SACE International Network currently counts 13 offices worldwide: Belgrade, Bogotà, Cairo, Dubai, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Mexico City, Mumbai São Paulo, Shanghai, Riyadh. International offices act as catalysts for export opportunities, assisting Italian companies to locate business partners and buyers overseas.
