HC Deb 12 February 2004 vol 417 cc1615-6W
Matthew Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the top five clients/ companies, by value, of the Export Credits Guarantee Department for each of the last five years. [152981]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

The information is as follows:

1998–99

  • BAE Systems Ltd
  • Airbus Industrie
  • Mitsui Babcock Energy Ltd
  • RWE Thames Water plc1
  • Skanska Cementation International Ltd

1999–2000

  • BAE Systems Ltd
  • Airbus Industrie
  • Alstom Power Plants Ltd
  • MBDA UK Ltd
  • Dresser Kellogg Energy Services Ltd

2000–01

  • BAE Systems Ltd
  • Airbus Industrie
  • ABN AMRO Bank NV1
  • RWE Thames Water plc1
  • Mabey and Johnson Ltd

2001–02

  • BAE Systems Ltd
  • Airbus Industrie
  • ABN AMRO Bank NV1
  • RWE Thames Water plc1
  • Mabey and Johnson Ltd

2002–03

  • BAE Systems Ltd
  • ABN AMRO Bank NV1
  • Airbus Industrie
  • Westland Helicopters Ltd
  • MBDA UK Ltd

Customers are listed by the value of issue/renewed guarantees. 1 These represent Overseas Investment Insurance cases (covering either equity investments or loans).

Malcolm Bruce

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on her Department's assessment of the debt owed to the Export Credits Guarantee Department by other nations; what assessment has been made of how much of these debts can be recovered and from whom; how her Department plans to recover them; and what targets have been set for their recovery. [144833]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

[holding answer 18 December 2003]ECGD claims payments resulting from sovereign default are generally recovered through the Paris Club of Official Creditors. Paris Club creditors act in concert to agree appropriate debt restructuring with countries in difficulty.

Through this route, ECGD usually receives between £300 million and £400 million per annum. As at 30 September 2003 there were agreements with 46 countries owing ECGD a total of £10 billion. ECGD expects to recover the majority of this debt together with additional moratorium interest.

It is expected that the unsustainable debt of the heavily indebted poor countries still remaining will be written off over the next few years.

ECGD makes provisions against loss. In preparing statutory resource accounts ECGD estimates the recoverable element of outstanding paid claims based on sound valuation principles and assumption methodologies that conform to best practice as recognised and used by the major financial institutions in assessing similar risks.

For non-Paris Club debt ECGD similarly makes a regular assessment of the likely recoverability of debt where default has occurred. It then sets targets accordingly. ECGD uses a wide range of strategies to recover such debt, in line with best market practice and focuses its resources accordingly.