GTR Magazine - March/April 2011
Newcomers Step Up
Changes are afoot in the credit insurance industry in the wake of its recovery from the credit crunch, writes Kevin Godier.
Commodity prices unsettle market
Dramatic fluctuations in commodity prices will challenge everyone in the supply chain from producer, trader, financier and consumer. Rebecca Spong reports from Unctad’s second global commodities forum.
GTR's Best Deals 2010
Hundreds and hundreds of deal nominations were submitted to GTR at the end of 2010, and after much debate GTR’s judging panel managed to select just 29 winning deals.
Best Deals 2010: Sinosure guarantees for Gabonese metal
Demonstrating the growing importance of the trade flows between China and Africa, mandated lead arrangers BNP Paribas and ICBC signed a US$157mn loan for the construction of a metallurgical plant in Gabon in September 2010.
Best Deals 2010: Brazil keeps South Africa moving
HSBC’s project and export finance team closed a US$43.5mn buyer’s credit backed by Brazil’s development bank BNDES, in support of the new Rea Vaya bus rapid transit system in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Best Deals 2010: China Calling
Joint co-ordinating mandated lead arrangers Barclays Capital and Absa Capital closed a syndicated US$127mn Sinosure-backed facility with Telkom, one of Africa’s largest fixed-line telecommunications operators, at the end of 2010.
Best Deals 2010: Europe-Russia ties strengthen
Nord Stream closed a €3.9bn debt financing for phase one of the natural gas pipeline project between Russia and the European Union, via the Baltic Sea in March 2010. The deal is one of the largest oil and gas deals to be closed in 2010.
Best Deals 2010: Niche industry draws in big names
Santander and WestLB acted as bookrunners, joint lead arrangers and underwriters to successfully close a US$470mn pre-export finance facility for Brazilian pulp producer Bahia Specialty Cellulose.
Best Deals 2010: Driving Hyundai’s growth
In 2010, Bank of America Merrill Lynch created a financing package for Hyundai Motor Group in Korea to help their dealers in Latin America reduce their overall banking and financing charges for their trade transactions.
Financing earlier in the chain
As export volumes grow, suppliers are looking for even earlier financing to support growth in business orders. Some providers see this as a natural extension of supply chain finance, and are ready to get involved. Liz Salecka reports.
Paperless trade takes shape
The shift towards e-invoicing looks set to bring major benefits for all players in the supply chain space. Liz Salecka reports.
Nervous insurers monitor Mena
Political risk insurance markets are cautiously watching the unfolding instability across the Middle East and North Africa region, writes Kevin Godier.
Malaysia's three-pronged regional drive
Malaysia’s top three domestic banks have trade finance at the core of their strategies for regional expansion. Rupert Sayer caught up with the heads of the banks responsible for trade to find out more.
Firmly backing US exports
The chairman of US Ex-Im, Fred Hochberg, speaks to Michael Turner about the importance of US exports and how growth will be found in 2011.
Big dreams in Latin America
New sources of funding are being created to provide much-needed liquidity to Latin America’s ambitious but cash-poor SMEs, reports Eleanor Wragg.
Back on track in Kenya
Kenya is keen to become more of a key player in the commodity financing market, but there are many
obstacles to overcome, writes Shannon Manders.
Full list of winners 2010
As well as the six exceptional deals, a number of deals also stood out to GTR's judging panel as exemplary in their fields.
Kenya channels its mobile expertise
Kenya has been lauded as a pioneer of mobile solutions, which are now being harnessed by the commodity finance market. Shannon Manders reports.
