Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC), the Australian government’s export credit agency, is helping South Australia’s South State Food & Beverage to access additional working capital for new export opportunities in China and Taiwan.
The Adelaide-based manufacturer of ‘ready to drink’ alcoholic beverages and food products already exports its products, including its flagship DNA Alcoholic Spring Water, around the world.
EFIC provided a working capital guarantee to Westpac, enabling the bank to lend additional funds to South State to help the company finance increases in the cost of packaging for markets in China and Taiwan.
EFIC’s guarantee, known as EFIC Headway, enables small and medium-sized exporters like South State to access additional working capital from their bank.
‘It’s great to receive orders for our beverages in China and Taiwan, but it also means extra packaging and labelling costs for these markets’, said Stephen Williams, managing director of South State.
‘The additional funds available through EFIC Headway have helped us seize these new export opportunities and build on our existing Asian customer base in Japan, Korea and Singapore’, said Williams.
South State manufactures its brands in Adelaide, and under licence in Melbourne and Sydney as well as in the United States, Europe and Asia.
‘EFIC is pleased to help South State meet the increased demand for its products in Asia’, said Andrea Govaert, EFIC’s Executive Director, SME.
‘Through EFIC Headway, we work with Australia’s leading banks to help SME exporters overcome working capital shortfalls and achieve further international success’, said Govaert.