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Belgian export credit agency ONDD has eased cover restrictions for Niger, Kyrgyzstan and other countries.

All restrictive insurance terms for export transactions with a credit duration of more than two years (medium and long-term credit) with Niger have been lifted. However, it applies to highly productive projects, which have priority for the economic development of the country and which are relevant for the Belgian economy.

The ceiling for these transactions has been increased to €50mn. For credits with public debtors, it should be checked whether they are subject to possible restrictions from the International Monetary Fund as regards non-concessional credits.

Within the framework of the OECD Arrangement, the premium category for medium and long-term transactions remains unchanged (category 7 out of 7).

Niger has been enjoying political stability during the Tandja era and the country has achieved good economic performances since 2005 thanks to better crops and the increase in the mining income, such as uranium, due to the rise in the world prices, claims ONDD.

The vulnerability of the country towards exogenous shocks remains, however, a weakness that keeps the food safety problem alive. The international help is still a necessity in order to correct its external imbalance and to reduce its structural budget deficit.

Meanwhile, the country’s financial situation has strongly improved with a more sustainable foreign debt situation, thanks to debt cancellations granted after the country has reached the completion point under the HIPC initiative and the ‘Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative’.

Meanwhile, ONDD resumes cover for medium and long-term transactions with Kyrgyzstan. Projects with a high profit-earning capacity, of priority to the economic development of the country and important to the Belgian economy shall be involved.

For credits with public debtors, for which a sovereign guarantee is required, it should be checked whether they are subject to restrictions from the International Monetary Fund as regards non-concessional credits.

The cover ceiling amounts to €90mn for these transactions while the premium category remains unchanged (category 7 out of 7) within the framework of the OECD Arrangement.

The external ratios relating to the foreign debt sustainability have improved over the past years and should continue to decrease due to the expected debt cancellations under the HIPC and MDRI initiatives.

Kyrgyzstan remains vulnerable to external shocks but the good collaboration with the international financial institutions in the past leads us to suppose that the country could rely on foreign support if need be.

Following the OECD Arrangement, ONDD has lowered its insurance premiums for political risks related to medium and long-term export credits on Morocco (from category 4 to category 3 – out of 7 – 7 being the highest risk), Libya (from 7 to 6) and Bahrain (from 3 to 2).

ONDD’s acceptance policy for these countries remains unchanged.