The Africa Trade Insurance
Agency (ATI) Annual
General Meeting has
appointed COMESA Secretary
General Mr. Sindiso Ngwenya as a
board member on the ATI board.
The appointment was made in
Nairobi Kenya at the 7th AGM
held on 22nd July 2008.
Meanwhile, ATI has continued
to record positive growth in all
areas of its operations. the Agency
achieved a profit of US$126,000 as
a result of the increased premium
income, increased commission
and investment income,
coupled with a tight control
on administrative expenses. ATI
Chief Executive Officer Mr. Peter
Jones revealed this at the AGM.
He also added that Standard
& Poor’s, a major international
credit rating agency, assigned
to ATI a long term ‘A’ (rating),
ATI Records
US$126, 000 Profit
and COMESA Secretary
General is Appointed
ATI Board member
Strong, counterparty and insurer
financial strength ratings with a
Stable outlook. This makes ATI
the second highest rated African
institution after the African
Development Bank.
This Strong Rating was only
made possible following the
substantive completion of the
legal and capital restructuring of
the Agency. “The Agency now
has paid-in capital of US$79
Million, which together with
approximately an additional
US$60 million in committed
contingent capital enables the
Agency to support almost US$2
billion in Gross Exposure, a fivefold
increase over what would
have been possible under the
previous underwriting capital
structure”, Mr. Jones said.
During 2007, in almost all areas
of its operations, ATI crossed
new frontiers and posted new
performance records during
2007. The agency generated a
record gross written premium
of over US$1 million, thereby
exceeding its business targets
for the year. Furthermore, for the
first time in its history it recorded
17 policies and renewals,
covering a cross-section of the
economy, from aviation and
agriculture to construction and
telecommunications.
Mr. Jones added that ATI paid
its first claims amounting to
just under US$ 65,000, thus
protecting the exporter’s balance
sheet and employees from the
adverse financial impact which a
loss could otherwise have caused
and entered its first co-insurance
and re-insurance arrangements
with Zurich Financial Services
of the USA, and Sovereign Risk
Insurance limited, a subsidiary of
the ACE Group of Bermuda;
Since it was created in 2001
and commenced operations in
2002, the Agency has supported
almost US$500 million of inward
investment and in the past two
and a half years has supported
exports by private corporations
worth over US$180 million.
In addition, it has supported
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