GTR eNews - August 2008
August 29, 2008
Loveday joins Nedbank
Dominic Loveday has joined Nedbank's structured trade and commodity finance (STCF) team in London.August 29, 2008
UK mineral company found fuelling DRC conflict
A minerals company failed to ensure its activities did not support armed conflict and forced labour in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to a British government investigation.August 29, 2008
Ukraine’s Bank Finance and Credit signs oversubscribed loan
Bank of Finance and Credit in Ukraine has signed a US$42.5mn syndicated trade-related term loan via mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners Banco Finantia, BayernLB and Standard Bank.August 29, 2008
Calyon and ING win mandates for Ukrainian car project
Calyon and ING have been mandated as lead arrangers and bookrunners to arrange a US$125mn syndicated secured term loan facility for Zaporizha Automobile Building Plant in Ukraine.August 27, 2008
Baft appoints new board member
Peter Mack, vice president and managing director of trade finance and correspondent banking, at Fifth Third Bank, has been elected to the Bankers’ Association for Finance and Trade’s (Baft) board of directors.August 27, 2008
Standard Bank of South Africa issues mandates
The Standard Bank of South Africa has mandated BayernLB to arrange a US$300mn dual currency (US dollar and euro) term loan facility.August 27, 2008
Noor Islamic Bank closes murababa facility
A US$1.5bn multicurrency syndicated commodity facility has been arranged for Dubai Financial Group in the UAE.August 27, 2008
Standard boosts Brazilian project finance team
Standard Bank has hired a team of six project financiers from ABN Amro in Brazil.August 27, 2008
Nadra Bank signs syndication
Mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners BayernLB and Standard Bank have closed a US$55mn syndicated trade-related term loan facility for Nadra Bank.August 15, 2008
Syndication launches on Gazprom guaranteed deal
Mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners ABN Amro and Calyon are arranging a US$500mn amortising term loan for Novy Urengoy Gas and Chemical Complex (NGCC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom.August 15, 2008
JPMorgan's Raza to move to Dubai
August 15, 2008
Fortis' Schuilwerve moves to Singapore
August 15, 2008
Investec strengthens project & infrastructure team
Investec Capital Markets has appointed Charlie Seymour will become one of the senior leaders in its project & infrastructure finance team.August 14, 2008
Alfa-Bank Ukraine launches syndication
Mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners Banif-Banco Internacional do Funchal, BayernLB, GarantiBank International and HSBC have launched syndication of a US$60mn term loan credit facility for Alfa-Bank Ukraine.August 14, 2008
NLMK raises bridge loan to secure JMC acquisition
Co-ordinating mandated lead arrangers Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch and Société Générale have been mandated to arrange and underwrite a 364-day US$2bn unsecured bridge loan facility.August 13, 2008
Russian steel firms are in acquisition-mode
Steel producer Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) has signed an agreement to acquire US steel pipe and tube manufacturer John Maneely Company (JMC).August 13, 2008
EBRD’s trade programme to support local currency deals
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has issued its first guarantee in local currency.August 13, 2008
Bank of Georgia and TBC on review for downgrade
Moody’s Investors Services has placed Bank of Georgia and TBC on review for a possible downgrade.August 13, 2008
International bank of St Petersburg launches trade deal
Mandated lead arrangers Commerzbank, MDM Bank, VTB Bank and VTB Bank Europe have launched a US$20mn trade-related syndicated term loan facility for International Bank of St Petersburg.August 12, 2008
Arab Bank launches Misys Islamic banking solution
Arab Bank has gone live with the Misys Equation Islamic solution at its offices in Qatar. It is planning to roll out the solution across all its operations in the GCC, beginning with its Abu Dhabi branch in December 2008.August 12, 2008
Bank Soyuz loan launches into market
Mandated lead arrangers Commerzbank, RZB, Raiffeisenbank Austria and Standard Bank have launched a US$30mn one-year loan for Soyuz Bank into general syndication.August 11, 2008
Asian trade fund reveals promising Q1 results
LH Asian Trade Finance Fund has carried out in excess of US$30mn in structured trade and commodity finance transactions during the first quarter of 2008.August 11, 2008
Raiffeisenbank Croatia signs syndication
Raiffeisenbank Croatia has secured a €100mn term loan facility via mandated lead arrangers The Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, Commerzbank, DZ Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg.August 11, 2008
Turklandbank closes club loan
Turklandbank has closed a dual tranche club term loan via mandated lead arrangers Arab Bank, BayernLB, Commerzbank, RZB and Unicredit Group.August 08, 2008
Ras Laffan C reaches financial close
Financial close has been reached on a US$3.25bn limited recourse financing for the Ras Laffan C power and water desalination project in Qatar.August 08, 2008
Alfa-Bank launches factoring programme
Russia’s Alfa-Bank has launched a factoring financing programme for its corporate clients.August 08, 2008
KazMunayGaz closes syndication
Mandated lead arrangers have closed syndication on a US$2.5bn facility for the state-owned oil and gas company KazMunayGaz (KMG).August 07, 2008
Atradius Collections partner up to chase unpaid Chinese invoices
Atradius Collections has signed a cooperation agreement with Flevum-Loernermark in Nanjing, with the aim of jointly pursuing the collection of unpaid invoices of Chinese exporters to their foreign customers.August 07, 2008
Tekstil Bank signs multi-currency syndication
Tekstil Bankasi in Turkey has signed a US$300mn-equivalent multi-currency syndicated term loan facility.August 07, 2008
Sekerbank secures dual-currency loan
Turkey’s Sekerbank has secured a US$170mn dual currency syndicated term loan facility.August 07, 2008
Morocco’s BCP selects Misys solution
Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) in Morocco has adopted new trade finance solutions from Misys, a provider of software and services.August 07, 2008
Misys selects Asia Pacific regional manager
The software and services company Misys has appointed Graeme Beardsell as regional manager for Asia Pacific.August 07, 2008
ACE to open Dubai base
ACE American Insurance Company is to establish a representative office in Dubai.August 07, 2008
New vice-president for EIB
Plutarchos Sakellaris has been appointed vice-president of the European Investment Bank (EIB).August 06, 2008
B.I.NBank closes loan to meet trade finance demand
Russia’s B.I.NBank has closed a US$27mn syndicated trade-related facility via mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners Landesbank Berlin and VTB Bank.August 06, 2008
Syndication continues on Metalloinvest
General syndication on a US$1.3bn syndicated loan for Russian iron ore and steel company Metalloinvest is expected to continue for at least a further three weeks.August 05, 2008
Bolero and Fortis launch multi-banking channel
Fortis has signed an agreement with Fortis that will enable the bank to provide multi-banking trade finance services through the Bolero channel to its global customers.August 05, 2008
Katanga Mining signs agreement with Gecamines
August 04, 2008
New head of oil and gas at Rosneft
Russian oil company Rosneft has appointed Gani Gilaev as head of the oil and gas production department.August 04, 2008
Sace opens in Johannesburg
Italian export credit agency Sace has opened up in Johannesburg, South Africa.August 04, 2008
SMBC reveals promotions in trade finance
SMBC has made a number of promotions and changes to the management structure of its trade finance business.August 01, 2008
Canadian support for EBRD in Russia and Ukraine
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has secured €275,000 from the Canadian Technical Cooperation Fund 2006-2009 to help support trade finance consultancy services for banks in Russia and Ukraine.August 01, 2008
Vakifbank raises trade-related loan
Turkey’s Vakifbank has raised a US$750mn one-year loan via 25 banks.August 01, 2008
Peru signs up to OECD global investment agreement
Peru has become the 41st adherent to the OECD declaration on international investment and multinational enterprises.August 01, 2008
Standard Bank opens in DRC
Standard Bank has opened a full-service branch in the Katanga-region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The office is opening in Lubumbashi, and is aiming to capture business with mining firms active in the mineral-rich region.
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