SACE to Collaborate with IFFCO Group

SACE is excited to introduce a new Push Program featuring a substantial facility designed to bolster the Italian value chain in the food and beverage sector. This initiative is in partnership with the IFFCO Group, an international conglomerate based in the United Arab Emirates. IFFCO manufactures and markets a wide array of mass-market food products, derivatives, intermediates, and services. With 95 facilities in 50 countries, and employing approximately 15,000 people, IFFCO's operations span five continents and encompass over 80 brands. For the first time on a global scale, SACE has guaranteed financing utilizing an Islamic finance structure (Commodity Murabaha) in support of the IFFCO Group, with HSBC acting as the sole participant. This facilitation by SACE is designed to enhance business opportunities for companies within the Italian agri-food sector, a vital component of national interest, while opening new export opportunities for the entire supply chain.

Michal Ron, Chief International Officer of SACE commented: “We are proud to stand alongside IFFCO, a leading international player in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, and we are confident that this operation will open up numerous other opportunities for Italian SMEs in their respective sectors of interest. Furthermore, this is the first Push Strategy operation structured according to Islamic Finance principles, which will enable the opening of new markets in the Middle East and other geographies, with a positive impact on Italian exports”.

Ram Ramanathan – Group Director and Group CFO IFFCO stated “We thank HSBC and SACE for our shared success in creating a “global first” Islamic structure under the SACE push program which exemplifies the partnership, ingenuity, and commitment of our three institutions.”

Samir Nayak – Director – Group Treasury IFFCO further added “We creatively designed a financial structure working around complex parameters to synchronize ECA clauses to fit into an Islamic structure to deliver an innovative solution versus conventional offering.”

Alexei Rybakov, HSBC’s Head of Export Finance MENAT, commented: “This transaction marks a further development in Shariah-compliant structures. Innovative cross-border transactions like this are accelerating trade and investment between Europe and the Middle East. We’re proud of the role we played and congratulate IFFCO and SACE as they deliver on their objectives at both ends of the corridor”.

The collaboration between IFFCO, SACE, and HSBC has resulted in a ready-made templated solution to implement Sharia-compliant export credit agency (ECA) financing under SACE's Push Program.