Sector - Utilities & Infrastructure
China and IADB create joint fund
The IADB and the People’s Bank of China (PBC) have approved a co-financing fund for LatAm and the Caribbean.
HSBC expects trade finance shift
A trade shift towards more value-added products will increase demand for open-account and other types of trade financing, according to HSBC.
In its latest Commercial Banking Trade Forecast, the bank explains that rapid industrialisation, increasing wages and maturing consumer demand in developing countries have changed the types of goods imported, manufactured and exported along the south-south corridor.
Vietnam continues to trade up
Vietnam is becoming an important market for financiers in light of its continued need for investment capital to fuel the growth of the economy, writes Eleanor Hill.
Jordan power plant gets loan
Amman Asia Electric Power has received project financing of about US$600mn from Japan and South Korea.
SA corporates speak up
As concerns for geopolitical problems and counterparty risks grow, GTR and Standard Bank gathered a group of corporates to discuss how they’re managing their physical and financial supply chains.
India: Paving the way
The current state of transport infrastructure is curtailing economic growth in India, but the government is leaving no stone unturned in addressing the deficit, writes Siddharth Poddar.
New players fill Asia infrastructure gap
The pullback of European banks from infrastructure finance has prompted alternative investors to step in.
AfDB funds power network link
The AfDB is funding a US$25mn project to link the power network between the Central African Republic and the DRC.
Caterpillar gets ECA-backed SCF
US construction equipment firm Caterpillar has received a US$450mn supply chain finance facility from JP Morgan.
SA delays Glencore-Xstrata merger
The US$33bn merger between commodity traders Glencore and Xstrata is facing delays due to coal supply concerns in South Africa.
South Africa’s competition tribunal has granted the country's power utility company, Eskom, the right to intervene in its deliberations on the proposed merger, and hearings were scheduled to take place this week (December 10-14), but have been delayed to the third week in January upon request from Glencore and Xstrata.
Dubai engineering firm strikes deal
Dubai-based engineering firm Drake & Scull International (DSI) has signed a US$120mn loan with a syndicate of banks.
Update: Cote d'Ivoire plant gets insured
A group of development banks has signed a US$350mn debt agreement to develop the Azito Thermal Power Plant.
Trade growth to push SCF, says HSBC
Trade finance banks will have to focus on supply chain optimisation as global trade grows and new corridors emerge, HSBC forecasts.
In its Global Connections report, the bank predicts a 5% increase in world trade in 2013, followed by 6-7% growth in 2014-16, led by emerging markets in Asia and Latin America. As a result, HSBC expects the structure of supply chain finance to change and adapt to new trade flows, prompting innovation within banks.
Nepal gets credit boost
From 2013, the ADB's project financing to Nepal will come in the form of concessional loans.
