China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure), the country's sole export credit agency, has underwritten a total of US$12bn worth of exports from January to November.
That is a 140 per cent increase from the same period in 2003, signalling intensified efforts from the Chinese Government in support of its numerous exporters. "And we plan to insure US$20bn worth of exports in 2005," an anonymous Sinosure official said.
That will be more than 3.3 per cent of China's expected exports next year based on an estimated export volume of US$600bn in 2005.
Currently, the company has chalked up an insurance coverage rate slightly exceeding 2 per cent. The rate is widely seen as an indicator of a country's support of its exports. Sinosure has the ambitious goal of raising the insurance coverage rate to between 10 and 15 per cent by 2010, a rate matching that of developed countries.