The African Trade Insurance Agency( ATI), Africa's only multilateral import & export credit and political risk agency announced Ghana is soon to complete the membership process of becoming its 16th member country at the recent 2nd annual African Banking & Financial Institutions Conference hosted by First Vault Group in Accra-Ghana. Mr. George Otieno, Chief Executive Officer of ATI noted “Ghana’s membership comes coincidentally at a time when ATI is celebrating its 10th anniversary. This is a major milestone for ATI which now looks to extend its footprint into West Africa with Ghana as a strong launching pad.” ATI’s products have been an important solution to help exporters compete in global markets and has also helped attract more foreign investments into Africa. Ghana’s Commissioner of Insurance, Mrs. Kyiamah, welcomed the news saying “ATI’s unique products will facilitate private sector-led trade flows, investment and productive activities through the provision of insurance, coinsurance, reinsurance, financial instruments and related services.” Mrs Effie Simpson Ekuban, Chief Director of the Ministry of Finance & Economic Planning, welcomed and supported what she considered an extremely positive development at a time of sovereign uncertainty whilst; Mr Malcolm Buamah, Managing Partner of First Vault Group noted that this serves to provide one of the most important risk mitigation mechanisms to allay the fears of international investors and facilitate continued foreign direct investments. Ghana will become the first West African State to subscribe to the membership of the multilateral insurer and will join as a class “A” shareholder, joining Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia which are the current full members of ATI. The governments of these countries have agreed to participate jointly with private sector players in facilitating ATI’s interventions in risk mitigation aimed at promoting trade and investment in the continent. ATI is expanding outwards to include into its membership more West African countries such as Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Nigeria Sierra Leone and Togo. Ghana continues to attract foreign business due to its favorable political climate and the pro-business reforms of recent years, which include free trade zones and laws encouraging foreign investment. By joining ATI, Ghana will provide an important cushion to its economy against losses from non-payment by foreign buyers of its export goods. In addition, foreign investors looking to invest in Ghana now have a strong investment-grade rated institution to offload their sovereign risk concerns. ATI is rated Single A-Stable by Standard & Poor’s, the 2nd highest rating by an African company after the African Development Bank. Once Ghana has officially ratified the Treaty establishing the African Trade Insurance Agency, the impact of ATI's products should begin to be felt immediately as ATI currently has over $1 billion worth of transactions in the pipeline for Ghana. Upon the signing of the host country agreement, plans will be underway to launch an ATI office in Accra, which will be the first hub in West Africa. The regional office will provide greater access to the local market for credit and political risk insurance products, which include Political Violence plus Terrorism and Sabotage. ATI is the only multilateral insurer in Africa. Founded in 2001 by African States, ATI provides Political Risk, Trade Credit Risk Insurance and Political Violence and Terrorism & Sabotage cover to protect African investments and trade. ATI has supported over US$2.5 billion in trade and investments across Africa in sectors such as agribusiness, energy, exports, housing, manufacturing, mining, road construction and telecommunications. ATI is the second highest rated institution in Africa, with the 2010 renewal of its Long Term ‘A’ Stable rating for Financial Strength and Counterparty Credit by Standard & Poor’s. Source: www.ati-aca.org