YEREVAN, September 27. / ARKA /. Only 3% of Armenia's foreign trade is financed through bank instruments, according to Artur Petrosyan, head of trade financing department of HSBC Bank Armenia who spoke at a seminar organized by HSBC Trade Academy.

"This means that the other 97% are s risky and less profitable deals because bank instruments allow to use more effective imports and exports schemes,» he said.

According to Petrosyan, all importers and exporters face a number of risks in handling their transactions, related to transportation, insurance and logistics.

"In recent years search of partners and advance payments via Internet have become especially risky with hundreds of thousands of registered fictitious companies engaged in fraud," he said.

Mr. Petrosyan said the role of banking trade finance has increased after the latest economic and financial crisis when companies not longer agree to work for export without warranties.

According to him, one of the most efficient and cost-effective means of financing international trade transactions is a documentary credit which allows business people to minimize non-payment risks, on the one hand and avoid non-fulfillment of delivery on the other.

According to the latest numbers of ArmStat, Armenia’s foreign trade in the first eight months of 2012 saw a 5.5 percent year-on-year rise to $3.608.2 billion or 1.440.6 trillion drams. Exports were said to have grown by 11.4 percent in Jan.-August from the same time span of 2011 to $921.4 million. (368.1 billion drams), while imports grew by 3.6 percent to $.2686.8 billion (1072.5 trillion drams).

HSBC Trade Academy was launched in 2010 by HSBC Bank Armenia cjsc and Small and Medium Entrepreneurship Development National Center of Armenia. It aims to support Armenian exporters and importers in exploring trade and international business growth opportunities in the fast-changing and complex trade world. HSBC Trade Academy delivers workshops conducted by Trade Finance Specialists of HSBC Bank Armenia, who transfer their knowledge and expertise to the executives of the companies engaged in international trade activities or looking for opportunities to trade internationally in the future. -0-