The 14th workshop of Trade Academy organized by HSBC Bank Armenia and U.S. Embassy in Armenia was held today. The workshop hosted heads of around 50 organizations.

The Trade Academy helps Armenian importers and exporters carry out more effective global commerce, reduce the risks, fully reveal their potential and expand to international markets. It is a coordinated workshop and training for customers and local businesses and is held on a regular basis.

During the event, HSBC Bank Armenia’s trade finance experts passed on their skills and knowledge on the trends in the global commerce to the participants of the workshop.

“It’s critical for such countries as Armenia to have a developed infrastructure of trade funding. It’s also important that necessary financial knowledge be available to the Armenian importers and exporters”, said HSBC Bank Armenia CJSC CEO Thies Clemenz.

According to him, their 150 years of international experience in the trade finance field enables them to render such assistance.

“Day by day, we see organizations prefer trade funding instruments to the prepaid option as the formers are more secure, less risky and financially more effective”, he added.

Thies Clemenz noted that as of 2014, the U.S. is the 5th among those countries which export from Armenia which indicates that Armenian businesses can do much more to make use of the export in the U.S. taking into account the large Diaspora in the country. He expressed the hope that the event will help ambitious Armenian organizations consider the option of expanding their businesses to the American market.

U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills noted that development of business and commercial ties between the countries is one of his main goals.

“If American and Armenian businesses knew more about each other we could deepen the ties. Being the 5th among Armenia’s commercial partners is a positive index. But Americans like being the first and if there is a chance of increasing our share I want us to do that”, said the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia.

He has noted that he sees the opportunity of cooperation growth in particular fields where the U.S. has technical expertise - energy, IT, healthcare, agribusiness and metal mining.

Touching upon U.S. stance on Armenia’s membership to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), Richard Mills has noted that the U.S. doors are always open for commercial investments.

Head of the Trade Finance Department of the Bank Kamo Margaryan has noted that the Trade Academy’s main goal is to familiarize Armenian businessmen with trade finance instruments. This time, the event focused on the U.S.-Armenia commercial ties.

“We have engaged organizations which either carry out or are going to establish commercial ties on the American market”, he said.

Presenting the results of 2014, Director of Trade and Credit Department of HSBC Bank Armenia Aram Pinajian has noted that the Bank’s Trade Department registered 35% (AMD31.8bln) growth of trade funding services. As of the same year, the trade finance profits grew by 51%. The trade finance market share made 37%.