Citigroup wins exporter award

Citigroup was named Ireland's exporter of the year last night at an awards ceremony in Dublin, the first services group ever to receive the accolade. Claire Shoesmith reports.

The US company, which employs 1,200 people in Dublin, provides financial services to customers in 161 countries from its base in the city's International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

Its revenue has soared over the past few years as a direct result of an increase in the financial services it provides to customers in foreign markets. Exports account for more than 90 per cent of the group's total Irish revenue.

Bernard Hanratty, Citigroup's director of global fund services, welcomed the award from the Irish Exporters Association (IEA) and said he hoped it would help increase recognition of financial services as an export commodity.

"Seeing our name up there will challenge people's ideas of what an exporter is," he said.

The decision to award the top prize to a large multinational finance house like Citigroup reflects the shift in Irish exports away from the traditional manufacturing sector to the area of services. Over the past 10 years, service exports have grown tenfold and now account for 31 per cent of total Irish exports. During this period, merchandise exports have grown less than threefold.

"Whereas manufacturing exporters are under pressure to hold market share, the future for the internationally traded services sector looks bright," said Don Moore, president of the IEA, "and nowhere do the export prospects look brighter than in the financial services sector."

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin thanked exporters for the "valuable contribution" they have made to the growth of the economy.

The challenge now was to start exploiting the prospects offered by new export markets such as eastern Europe and China to sustain future growth, he said.

In sales per capita terms, Ireland ranks second only behind Luxembourg as the largest exporter in the world, according to the OECD.