Subsidies and export financing: Finexpo

Are you an SME or a large enterprise wanting to export a product and potentially related services? Finexpo may be for you!

What is Finexpo?

Finexpo, a contraction of financing and exports, is a federal body that supports the export of Belgian capital goods and related services. They work through an interdepartmental advisory committee managed by the FPS Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation and the FPS Finance, which the 3 regions also participate in. Finexpo aims to promote the image of Belgian products abroad and reconcile free trade with the need to preserve the competitiveness of exporters.

Finexpo's action is mainly focused on the financing conditions of credits related to the provision of capital goods and related services.  

Who is Finexpo for?

The target group for financial support consists of SMEs and large enterprises. Non-profit organisations are not eligible. The work of this committee allows:

• Belgian companies negotiating a contract and competing with companies from other countries to offer attractive and competitive financing;
• Belgian companies to carry out projects in developing countries and so contribute to the development of these countries.

The different instruments

The Gross National Income per capita indicator determines which country is eligible for which type of aid:

• each country is eligible for interest*  stabilisation on commercial credit, provided that the country risk can be insured through Credendo. It is Finexpo's "commercial instrument".
  _{Interest stabilisation guarantees a fixed interest rate for the entire duration of the project financing, i.e. the period during which the borrowed money is drawn and the period during which it is repaid.}

• there are "concessional"** instruments" for countries with a lower Gross National Income per capita. Therefore, the buyers should be government buyers from developing countries.  Among these instruments, a distinction is made between "tied" and "untied" aid.
  _{** The concept of "concessionality" means that the buyers, who must be government buyers in developing countries, are not required to repay the full amount of the loan on market terms. Finexpo allows the buyer to enjoy longer repayment terms, lower interest rates and/or a grant.
  *** The notion of "tied" or "untied" aid refers to the conditions for benefiting from the different instruments; these conditions are either linked to the promotion of Belgian economic interests (tied aid) or not (untied aid).}

Depending on your export target country, Finexpo provides a tool to help you determine the aid available.  

The instrument chosen for an export project will depend on the nature of the project, the country to which you want to export and the preference of the exporter and/or the bank or the beneficiary country.   

Are you an SME? Consider the following in particular :

• the "innovation instrument"
• the “renewable energy and circular economy instrument."

If you are an SME or a large enterprise, then the instruments that might be suitable for you are:

• the "stabilisation of interest"
• a "tied State-to-State loan"
• a "mixed credit" (State-to-State loan combined with a commercial credit)
• a "grant"
• "interest rate bonification with or without an additional grant"
• a "technical assistance grant" 
• an "untied State-to-State loan"

More info

Finexpo ensures that the fundamental values of Belgian diplomacy are respected. Finexpo therefore takes the following themes into account in its analyses:

• Business and human rights, including due diligence;
• The fight against corruption, money laundering and the financing of terrorism;
• The promotion of sustainable development through trade policy.

More info

Finexpo follows the rules set out in the OECD Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits.

For more information, please contact finexpo@diplobel.fed.be and consult the diplomatie.belgium - Finexpo website. You will find additional information on the relevance of each instrument for the company, as well as on the procedure, the files to be completed and the useful contact points for these dossiers.