12.09.2013 Information agency Credinform attended the seminar “Hermes – the Federal guarantor of exports in Russia” performed by the Russian-German Chamber of Commerce. Representatives of the Russian banks involved in foreign business activities, importers, consulting agencies learned features of German export support, particularly to Russia, and discussed aspects of its practical implementation with regard to the Russian-German transactions.

Export credit agency Euler Hermes Deutschland AG (Germany) is engaged in insurance of the international commercial transactions granting support to domestic producers. Our country is one of the more important Germany’s trade partners and therefore applications for insurance of export contracts with Russian parties makes considerable part in the Hermes portfolio. 2012 Hermes has insured deals with Russia for the total amount of 3.228 million EUR.

It is well known that in such sphere as insurance of international trade transactions it is obligatory to check the creditworthiness of a foreign counterparty (importer). Export insurance agencies usually use internal as well as external company data sources. Banks involved in financing of foreign business activity and lending to foreign buyers use services of B2B sector also.

Information agency Credinform collected a wide experience working with foreign clients that allows to place itself successfully on the international market of business information in particular as a supplier of updated and verified data on the Russian contractors.

At the end of the August the meeting of the Government Commission on the development of small business and competition led by the First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, took place. In course of the meeting the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation has supported the proposal to save the reduced rate of 20% premium payment for industrial and social small businesses, using the simplified tax system and patent, for the next two years (2014-2015). However, after the expiration of the allotted period not a one-off, but the gradual increase of the rate of 1% to 30%, as the rest business pays, will go on. Of course, such proposal should be seen as a positive signal to small businesses, especially in view of the existing recession in the industrial production of the country and, by and large, low income of small businesses. The Ministry of Finance offers to raise rates up to 30% form the early next year for all small companies. If in the course of the next meeting of the Russian Government the Ministry prevails over, it can be assumed that there will be an inevitable withdrawal of the part of entrepreneurs into the shadows and the closure of businesses.

On the other hand, in the course of the meeting the revolutionary proposal of The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade to release of individual entrepreneurs, for the first time passed the state registration, for two years from the payment of any taxes and obligatory insurance contributions, was rejected. Such conservatism is largely due to the problem of small business control, which presides mainly through the fiscal authorities in our country.

Information agency Credinform prepares to present an independent solvency index, which aims, inter alia, to identify fly-by-night companies, registered mainly as small enterprise.