Global Trade Review

In the current issue of March April 2008

Cover Story:

Best Deals of 2007: Introduction

GTR's 40 Best Deals of 2007 are showcased in the following pages. Power, telecoms, metals and oil were outright winners sector-wise, while regionally there was a good spread all round.

Once again inundated with nominations for GTR's Best Deals of 2007 awards, we sliced the lists down to a mere 40 winners, the same number as for 2006.

Compared to 200...
more>>

Latest Features

Best Deals of 2007: Afren Okoro, Nigeria

BNP Paribas closed an exceptional US$230mn development financing for Nigerian oil company Afren Okoro in March 2007. The deal marks the first single pre-production financing ever closed in Nigeria. ...

Best Deals of 2007: Aluar, Argentina

ABN Amro, Calyon, JPMorgan, Natixis and Rabobank closed a US$150mn financing for Aluar, Argentina's primary producer of aluminium, in December 2007. The facility marks the continued strength of Aluar,...

Best Deals of 2007: Ambatovy Mineral, Madagascar

In August 2007 mandated lead arrangers Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, BNP Paribas, Calyon, ING, Mizuho, Shinhan, SMBC, Société Générale and Woori and closed a US$405mn dual tranche export credit ag...

Best Deals of 2007: Avea, Turkey

One of the largest agency-supported multi-tranche syndicated financings arranged for a Turkish borrower to date signed last April. The US$1.6bn financing was for the expansion of Avea's mobile telecom...

Best Deals of 2007: Bahia Pulp, Brazil

Sole lead arranger WestLB closed a unique US$320mn hybrid financing raised for Bahia Pulp in Brazil in January 2007. This deal stands out in the market due to its interesting structure that incorporat...

Best Deals of 2007: Banglalink, Bangladesh

Initial mandated lead arrangers (IMLAs) and global co-ordinators Standard Chartered Bank and KfW Ipex were joined by mandated lead arranger (MLA) HSBC and a host of other arrangers mid-year for what t...

Best Deals of 2007: BI Cement, Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan's first cement plant based on more energy-efficient 'dry' technology will be built near Astana thanks to a landmark financing signed last year. A package comprising an export credit agency ...

Best Deals of 2007: Ciment Blanc Algerien, Algeria

In September 2007, Citi successfully closed as sole mandated lead arranger a US$320mn limited-recourse financing in Algerian dinar, for Ciment Blanc Algerien. Proceeds will be used to finance the cons...

Best Deals of 2007: CVRD, Brazil

In January 2007 mandated lead arrangers ABN Amro, Credit Suisse, Santander and UBS arranged a US$6bn pre-export financing to support Brazil's Companhia Vale do Rio Doce's (CVRD) acquisition of Canadia...

Best Deals of 2007: Diplomata Industrial e Comercial, Brazil

The first international loan syndication for a little-known Brazilian borrower caught GTR's eye last year. Diplomata Industrial e Comercial is a poultry company known within Brazil but relatively unkn...

Best Deals of 2007: Dung Quat, Vietnam

Mandated lead arranger BNP Paribas has structured a US$300mn facility, backed by Japan's Nippon Export & Investment Insurance"s (Nexi) overseas untied loan insurance (OULI), in support of the Dung...

Best Deals of 2007: EVN, Vietnam

In March 2007 mandated lead arrangers Société Générale and Mizuho Corporate Bank co-financed with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) a ¥7.319bn (US$68mn) facility for Electricity...

Best Deals of 2007: Evraz, Russia

Signed in November 2007 and involving a group of 10 banks, the US$3.2bn multi-tranche credit facility for Evraz Group represents the largest metals pre-export financing deal completed in Russia to dat...

Best Deals of 2007: HCB, Mozambique

Mandated lead arrangers Calyon and Banco BPI signed a US$800mn electricity prepayment facility for electricity producer Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB) in Mozambique in November 2007, marking th...

Best Deals of 2007: Henan Yuguang Zinc, China

Sole bookrunner and mandated lead arranger BNP Paribas closed a Rmb660mn pre-financing for Chinese metals producer Henan Yuguang Zinc last year, a breakthrough in closing transactions within China's n...

Best Deals of 2007: Indian Oil, India

Sole arranger BBVA signed a US$300mn buyer's credit facility with the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) in August 2007, setting a benchmark for future transactions with the borrower. The deal was the first...

Best Deals of 2007: Jindal Steel & Power, India

Sole lead arranger Calyon successfully closed a €33.7mn ECA-backed transaction for Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) in India. Signed in December 2007, it breaks new ground in structuring export credit ...

Best Deals of 2007: Kingdom of Morocco

Santander closed a €188.91mn financing for the supply of off-road vehicles, and ambulances to Morocco in April 2007, setting a new benchmark for export-credit agency (ECA)-backed financings in the c...

Best Deals of 2007: Land Rover, Global

ABC International Bank (ABCIB), the London subsidiary of Bahrain's Arab Banking Corporation, is acknowledged as a niche regional specialist, supporting trade transactions with goods either heading to,...

Best Deals of 2007: JSC Madneuli and LLC Quartzite, Georgia

Sole mandated lead arranger, bookrunner, underwriter and facility agent Deutsche Bank closed a four-year US$180mn structured commodity financing for two mining companies, Madneuli and Quartzite, in Ge...

Best Deals of 2007: Marine Gardens, Russia

Bank TuranAlem (BTA) signed the first ever deal to be realised by a commercial bank and backed by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) in Kazakhstan and the wider CIS region in October ...

Best Deals of 2007: Marafiq IWPP, Saudi Arabia

BNP Paribas, Gulf International Bank and Samba Financial Group signed a US$3.443bn financing in May 2007 in support of the largest independent power and water desalination project finance transaction ...

Best Deals of 2007: Mechel, Russia

Mandated lead arrangers and underwriters ABN Amro, BNP Paribas, Calyon, Commerzbank, Natixis, SMBC and Société Générale successfully closed Russian metals and mining company Mechel's debut syndica...

Best Deals of 2007: Metinvest, Ukraine

Mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners ABN Amro, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and ING closed a US$1.5bn dual-tranche loan for Ukrainian metals and mining group Metinvest in July 2007. It is the large...

Best Deals of 2007: Millicom Tanzania, Tanzania

In March 2007, Citi acted as sole arranger for a loan for Millicom Tanzania (Tigo) that totalled US$22.45mn. The transaction is the first financing in Tanzania under Opic's Africa-Middle East Risk Sha...

Best Deals of 2007: Ministry of Finance, Angola

Acting as sole arranger and lender, Deutsche Bank signed several structured trade finance loans valued at a total of €533mn with the Ministry of Finance in Angola throughout 2007. The deals form the...

Best Deals of 2007: Noble Group, Asia Pacific

Acting as joint mandated lead arrangers ING, Société Générale and Standard Chartered structured a US$500mn committed guarantee facility for Noble Group, a major global supply chain manager for agr...

Best Deals of 2007: Noble and Gujarat Fluorochemicals, India

HSBC and Calyon signed a landmark €33mn prepayment facility for trading company and supply chain manager Noble Group in June 2007. The transaction marks the first time that a pre-payment financing s...

Best Deals of 2007: Norilsk Nickel, Russia

Mandated lead arrangers BNP Paribas and Société Générale structured a US$6bn financing package to fund Russia's Norilsk Nickel"s acquisition of Canada’s Lionore Mining International in one of th...

Best Deals of 2007: Pluspetrol, Peru

Mandated lead arrangers BBVA, BNP Paribas, Scotia Bank, Standard Bank and Natixis closed a US$170mn syndicated senior secured medium-term loan for Peruvian oil company Pluspetrol Norte in December 200...

Best Deals of 2007: Privatbank, Ukraine

JPMorgan concluded a landmark EDC financing in support of an important Ukrainian telecommunications project in the middle of last year. PrivatBank, the largest bank in Ukraine by capital and assets a...

Best Deals of 2007: Renova, Argentina

Considered to be the first major biodiesel project financing in Argentina, a US$27mn non-recourse facility arranged via WestLB is seen as a milestone transaction in the country's nascent biofuels mark...

Best Deals of 2007: Sealane, Asia Pacific

In November 2007 mandated lead arranger Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) closed a US$3bn balance sheet synthetic securitisation of trade finance loans. The transaction, known as Sealane, wins the accolad...

Best Deals of 2007: Skopje Power, Macedonia

The biggest single private investment in the Republic of Macedonia to date was signed during 2007 and arranged by Landesbank Berlin (LBB). The €167mn finance raised is for the construction of a 'cle...

Best Deals of 2007: Sterling Energy, Mauritania

BNP Paribas and Natixis arranged a US$250mn loan for Sterling Energy at the end of 2007, marking the first reserve-based lending (RBL) facility to combine assets housed in both Africa and the US. Th...

Best Deals of 2007: Technical Consumer Products (TCP), China/US

During 2007 Technical Consumer Products (TCP), the largest US distributor of energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs, found that the push for greener energy consumption was fuelling explosive...

Best Deals of 2007: VimpelCom, Russia

The first ever Russian rouble-denominated export credit facility closed finance in September last year. The Rb2.1bn transaction is supported by Swedish export credit agency (ECA) EKN and crucially is ...

Best Deals of 2007: Vinacomin, Vietnam

Sole bookrunner and mandated lead arranger Calyon closed a US$40mn pre-export facility for Vietnam National Coal and Mineral (Vinacomin) in March 2007, the first ever pre-export financing raised to su...

Best Deals of 2007: West Coast Power, Sri Lanka

The largest independent power producer (IPP) project in Sri Lanka's history was signed at the end of last year. With seven export credit agencies (ECAs) involved in the bank debt, the deal also sets a...

Best Deals of 2007: ZAO Profit, Russia

Commerzbank, ING, Natixis and Raiffeisen Bank, acting as mandated lead arrangers, closed a Rb2.8bn (US$114.48mn) structured syndicated facility for ZAO Profit, a leading company in the collection, pro...

Spanish Trade Finance

Leading Spanish banks are reporting positive growth, despite the prospect of an economic downturn in the country. The market for trade and export finance has shown particular resilience, writes Rebecc...

Syndicated Lending

Trade financiers have welcomed a correction in pricing and asset quality in recent months as the credit crunch brings markets back down to earth. Syndicated lending is feeling positive too, writes H...

SCF & Shareholder Returns

There are many reasons for corporates to adopt supply chain finance (SCF). But listed companies should be especially interested as it ties in neatly with the mantra of maximising shareholder value. Ju...

Sub-Saharan Africa: Telecoms

Telecoms financing is gradually maturing across Africa, with world-beating growth, reports Kevin Godier. As well as a frenzy of mobile telephony deals, cable projects are gaining momentum too. More t...

Sub-Saharan Africa: South Africa

Recent events have jolted South Africa, but the country's role as a finance hub for Africa certainly remains intact, writes Kevin Godier. As financial markets in the northern hemisphere have recoiled...

Middle East & North Africa: Libya

Four years after Libya and its ruler Gaddafi 'came in from the cold' and rejoined the mainstream international community, how much concrete progress has been made by way of deals and privatisations un...

The Americas: Brazilian IPOs

Behind every IPO there is an aggressive growth plan, for which trade finance is central, one Brazilian agribusiness executive tells Luis Waldmann. While there is strong potential for Brazilian agricul...