§ Mr. William PowellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement about the privatisation of the short-term business of the Export Credits Guarantee Department. [33149]
§ Mr. LangThe then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, my right hon. Friend the Member for St. Albans (Mr. Lilley), announced on 2 December 1991,Official Report, columns 11–12, the sale of the short-term business of the Export Credits Guarantee Department to NCM Holding NV. The £20 million goodwill element of the sale price included a deferred element up to a maximum of £5 million payable in 1996 subject to the privatised company's financial performance. I am pleased to be able to report that, on the basis of the company's actual performance, a sum of £5,479,127, made up of the basic sum due of £4,928,296 plus index linking, has now been paid to ECGD by the company.
I welcome this as the final formal stage in a highly successful privatisation which has provided UK exporters with the benefits deriving from the most competitive private sector export credit insurance market in Europe.