President of US EXIM Bank visits Mozambique

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM Bank), Fred Hochberg, is paying a working visit to Mozambique this week During his stay, Hochberg is liaising with national authorities to discuss the future of the economic partnership between the two countries. A press release from the US embassy cited by Notícias states that the presence of Fred Hochberg in Mozambique is part of a regional visit he is undertaking to talk about the role of the EXIM Bank and the export credit agencies in the promotion and support of the economic and infrastructure development in Africa.

“The president of EXIM bank will also discuss the bank’s role in the implementation of foreign direct investment in developing countries in Africa with the Mozambican authorities,” reads the statement. Hochberg is one of the top business leaders in US President Barack Obama’s administration. During Hochberg’s six-year tenure, EXIM Bank has supported more than 1.3 million American jobs and financed exports valued at more than US$200 billion, generating more than US$2 billion in surplus revenue for US taxpayers and reducing internal costs by 15 percent. “During Hochberg’s mandate, the Bank increased its focus on customers, in particular in exporting small businesses of America, and in each of the past years, nearly 90 percent of EXIM Bank commitments supported small businesses directly,” reads the press release. Hochberg, the source adds, has also worked to expand the global presence of major national industries in which US exporters have a comparative advantage, such as renewable energy, space technology, construction, agricultural machinery, medical technology, agriculture and civil aviation. In addition, it has simplified processes, dramatically reduced transaction times, and introduced new innovative financial products to better equip U.S. companies to win sales in an increasingly competitive global economy.