UK to focus on GCC as top export market

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has become the first region globally to have a dedicated UK Export Finance (UKEF) team based in-market, the UK’s Department for International Trade said in a statement on Tuesday.

The announcement comes after the UK government’s Export Credit Agency financed close to £2 billion ($2.84 billion) of GCC projects that procured UK exports from April 2016 to March 2017, the largest allocation of UKEF support to one region in the year.

This underscores the region’s “appetite for the UK’s goods and services,” the statement said.  

In the United Arab Emirates, there is up to £5 billion of capacity available to project sponsors, as well as an additional £4 billion available for projects in Dubai.

UKEF’s financing options include repayment terms of two to 10 years and up to 18 years in some sectors, such as renewable energy.

In November 2017, the export credit agency guaranteed a $2 billion loan to help Saudi Aramco buy British goods and services more easily. In the UAE, it has supported several projects including $220 million Dubai Arena, DWTC One Central and Bluewaters.