LiuGong Machinery Co(000528.SZ)., a premier global construction equipment manufacturer, is expanding its customer leasing and financing program to Europe in a move that builds upon the introduction of the program in North America earlier this year, company executives announced.
LiuGong has selected France-based BNP Paribas Lease Group S.A. as its financing partner after the China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation, SINOSURE, helped bring the two parties together. The program will be administered by BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions, which is one of four firms in the BNP Paribas Lease Group. Executives from both companies signed the agreement at a conference in Paris in mid-December.
BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions specializes in leasing solutions for professional construction equipment. Its offers a full-range of services from lease financing to outsourcing, and includes flexible and long-term leasing. Its parent company, BNP Paribas, is consistently one of the highest rated banks in the world on a number of measures. In 2011, it was named the best bank in developed Europe by Global Finance magazine.
“When we announced the first phase of our global financing program in March, we knew we also wanted a strong partner in Europe,” said LiuGong Vice-Chairman and President Mr. Zeng Guang’an.
“BNP Paribas is the number one leasing firm in Europe. It covers all the major LiuGong markets, and they have been extremely cooperative and enthusiastic about this partnership,” added Zeng.
Through the agreement, LiuGong will offer a unified platform to provide high quality financial leasing services which in turn give customers better flexibility and more diversified financial products to meet their financing needs. The program helps LiuGong dealers manage their cash flow more effectively, promoting easier investment into their dealership and product line.
The financial products include loans, financial lease/hire purchase, operating leases, and full service lease/contract hire, among other things. Under the agreement, LiuGong is not liable for loss in a customer default and it does not participate in a risk pool, thus limiting financial exposure.
“Leasing is very common in the European market, so this alliance provides our current and any potential dealer’s access to a strong, well-capitalized and highly rated financial firm for the financial products they need,” Zeng said.
BNP Paribas, with its deep knowledge of the construction equipment segment, can also provide financial consulting regarding the most beneficial finance options for any given customer, or lease or contract scenario.
LiuGong Machinery Corp., headquartered in Liuzhou, China has produced high quality construction equipment for more than 50 years and is growing throughout the world. The company has been named one of the top 100 brands in China, ranking 60th. With USD 2.32 billion in sales in 2010, China’s premier heavy equipment manufacturing firm is within the top 20 largest construction machinery companies globally.
The firm employs over 13,000 including more than 750 R&D engineers, and produces more than 60,000 machinery units annually. It offers a full line of machines, including wheel loaders, bulldozers, backhoes, skid steers, forklifts, graders, excavators, rollers, truck mounted and crawler cranes, and pavers.
LiuGong equipment is easy to own and easy to operate, and the company excels in providing features that customers demand, focusing on using only well-proven technologies that are easy to service.
Source:cmbol