Factors Chain International released today the figures for the 2008 world factoring industry

Factors Chain International released today the figures for the 2008 world factoring industry
Press Release 11 May 2009



Fresh statistics indicate that the total world volume for factoring increased in 2008 by 2%, compared to almost 15% in 2007. The world total stands now at €1,325,111 million.



The limited growth in Euros is heavily influenced by the slide of the pound sterling vis-à-vis the euro. While the United Kingdom still is the biggest single market for factoring and grew in 2008 with a reasonable percentage, expressed in Euros the market decreased with almost €100 million or 32%.



Overall, 2008 was a good year for the factoring industry, with the biggest growth to be seen in international factoring (+20%), that is factoring applied to cross-border trade. The Asian countries continued to gain in market share, both in domestic factoring and in international factoring (each +35%).



The results illustrate that exporters and importers, around the world, are becoming more and more familiar with the advantages to be derived from a factoring arrangement: working capital, credit risk protection and collection service for the exporter, while the importer benefits from buying on open account terms without the need to open letters of credit or to accept other payment conditions with a similar restrictive character.



FCI itself grew to a membership of 245 members, located in 65 countries. The joint membership now has a world volume share of 60%, and even 82% when looking specifically at cross-border factoring, making the network the undisputed leader in this field of trade finance. It also explains why FCI is nowadays the only organization which has the reach and depth to produce these global factoring statistics on a yearly basis.



Much of the export factoring business is generated in Greater China and in Turkey, two regions where FCI’s representation is second to none, with the USA and Western Europe as the major import factoring markets. In that perspective China has become the largest generator of export factoring business, with superior continued growth potential compared to other countries in the world.



When Mr. Jeroen Kohnstamm, Secretary General of FCI, was asked to comment on the China potential, he expressed confidence for the longer term but cautioned that in 2009 the growth of factoring would probably slow down a bit, at least during the first half of 2009:



a) Consumer demand in the USA dipped sharply lower, as a result of the local USA economy. Chinese exporters will need time to further diversify their customer base, but an increasingly important trade segment will be inter-Asian trade, as can be seen already from the fact that more and more Asian FCI members are opening up for import factoring business.



b) In the second half of 2009, growth may pick up again as orders have started to come in again in the second quarter of 2009 and as many potential users of factoring services have come to appreciate that in these difficult times of limited access to working capital and limited availability of credit insurance for debtor risks, the factoring industry has been more flexible and more welcoming in serving clients’ needs.



For more detailed information please consult the attached figures, or visit the FCI website for more generic information on (international) factoring:

http://www.factors-chain.com