GTR Trade Finance eNews - November 2008
Atradius sees Latin America as top trade partner
Latin America continues to be an attractive market for businesses looking to expand their sales, according to a survey conducted on behalf of Atradius by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Norilsk Nickel closes first ECA loan
Russian nickel producer Norilsk Nickel has signed a €278.8mn facility covered by the German export credit agency (ECA) Euler Hermes. It is the borrower's first ECA-supported deal.
EBRD and Calyon provide pre-harvest financing in Ukraine
The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Calyon are providing a loan package of US$60mn to Desnagrain, a Ukrainian agribusiness company.
StanChart secures top position in trade finance
Standard Chartered has been ranked as number one for trade transaction volumes in
Baft and Felaban join forces
The Bankers' Association for Finance and Trade (Baft) and the Latin American Banking Federation (Felaban) have formed an alliance, with the aim to work on priority issues of common interest.
Standard Chartered reorganises loan distribution teams
Standard Chartered has merged its primary and secondary loan distribution teams, creating one loan distribution group managing the selldown of loans in both the primary and secondary markets.
Chinese aluminium producer’s debut PXF loan defies market turmoil
Chinese aluminium producer Inner Mongolia Huomei Hongjun Aluminium & Electricity has drawn down its US$250mn three-year senior secured pre-export loan.
Sace opens in Sao Paulo
The Italian export credit agency Sace has opened a new office in Sao Paulo.
SMBCE makes key hires to its structured trade and commodity finance team
SMBCE has recruited Pepi Bedi and Shirley Mutter to its structured trade and commodity finance team in London.
Brazil’s Usiminas to raise an IADB-backed syndicated loan
The Brazilian steelmaker Usiminas is set to obtain a US$50mn A loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), and a commercially syndicated B loan to be lead arranged by SMBC. Syndication has already been launched on the B loan.
Finnvera increases support for Finnish firms
Finland’s export credit agency Finnvera is increasing its capacity to support Finnish businesses, having been granted an extra €60mn to be used to guarantee business loans and provide domestic loans that incur no interest subsidy.
Trafigura Beheer closes a syndicated revolving credit facility
Commodities trading company Trafigura Beheer has secured a US$200mn syndicated revolving credit facility, with syndication successfully closing despite worrying market conditions.
Syndication closes on Afrexim’s dual tranche loan
Mandated lead arrangers Arab Banking Corporation, Commerzbank, HSBC and Landesbank Baden-Wurttemburg have closed syndication of a US$65mn and €31mn dual tranche loan for the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).
EBRD completes first Russian factoring facility
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has concluded its first factoring transaction in Russia, having signed a total of US$20mn-worth of loan facilities with the Credit Bank of Moscow.
BTA Bank completes charter capital increase
The Central Bank of
Evraz secures VTB funds to pay taxes
Russian steel producer Evraz Group has secured a one-year 10bn rouble (US$360mn) credit facility from VTB Bank, and will be using the money to pay its taxes.
WTO's Lamy confirms a 'deteriorating' trade finance market
World Trade Organisation's (WTO) director-general Pascal Lamy has concluded that “the market for trade finance has severely deteriorated”.
IFC looks at trade opportunities in Southern Sudan
The IFC is investigating investment opportunities in
Egypt Factors begins operations to support cross-border trade
Egypt Factors, a trade finance joint venture between Commercial International Bank, Fimbank and the IFC have begun operations to promote cross-border trade in
Standard Chartered launches Islamic bank
Standard Chartered Bank
Russia’s VEB disburses second tranche to VTB Bank
The Russian state-owned development bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) has disbursed the second tranche of R100bn of a subordinated loan to VTB Bank.
Santander appoints new global transaction banking head
Santander has promoted Federico Papa to head of global transaction banking (GTB) for Europe.
HSBC wins financial advisor role on Egypt Hydrocarbon’s project
Egypt Hydrocarbon Corporation (EHC) has selected HSBC Bank as financial advisor on its petrochemicals plant to be built at Ain Sokhna on the Suez coast of Egypt.
Eskom signs loan with African Development Bank
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has signed a 20-year US$500mn loan for the South African electricity company Eskom, the largest loan to date granted by the private sector window of the AfDB.
Trade Bank of Iraq selects Misys
Trade Bank of
Venezuela’s Banco Exterior selects Surecomp
Banco Exterior in Venezuela has licensed a front-end trade finance solution from software provider Surecomp.
Citi GTS launches prepaid services for Emea
Citi’s global transaction services (GTS) business has launched a prepaid services solution on a platform for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (Emea).
Samba becomes first Saudi bank to launch in UAE
Samba Financial Group has formally inaugurated its new head office in
Syndicated deal closes for Russia’s North-West Telecom
Initial mandated lead arrangers ING Bank, Natixis, and UniCredit Group have closed a US$150mn three-year syndicated term loan facility for the Russian firm North-West Telecom (NWT).
JPMorgan reports letter of credit revival
JPMorgan Treasury Services has reported a resurgence in the use of letters of credit to support the financing of international trade.
UKTI to provide more support for small exporters
UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), the international business development arm of the
New appointments at Kazakh's Eurasian Bank
Kazakhstan's Eurasian Bank has appointed Almira Akhmetkarimova as the deputy chairman of the board and Zareena Taimagambetova as executive director, both to supervise the international activities of the bank, including its trade finance business, capital markets and financial institutions.
Both Akhmetkarimova and Taimagambetova worked at Alliance Bank in Kazakhstan before taking up new roles at Eurasian Bank. Taimagambetova also previously worked for Bank TuranAlem on their syndicated loans desk.
New name joins Baft's board of directors
Bank of America's Alejandro Pereyra joins the Bankers' Association for Finance and Trade's (Baft) board of directors.
Russia's Vnesheconombank signs syndicated loan
The Russian state-run development bank Vnesheconombank has closed a €335mn syndicated loan facility.
Miga backs fund to support West Bank and Gaza investment
A new trust fund with the aim of encouraging investors to increase investment in the West Bank and Gaza has been set up by the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (Miga), part of the World Bank Group, the European Investment Bank, the government of Japan, and the Palestinian Authority.
Black Sea trade bank to work with Austria’s OeEB
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) and the Development Bank of Austria (OeEB) have set to up a fund aimed at supporting technical cooperation activities in a number of countries in the Black Sea region.
IFC to support Russia’s Uraltransbank
The IFC will provide a US$5mn trade finance guarantee to Russia’s Uraltransbank to help support import-export transactions in the Urals region, and open up access to global financial markets.
Eckermann joins Fimbank
Fimbank has appointed Armin Eckermann to head up the banking division of the group.
UC Rusal to develop Vietnam metals plant
Russia’s UC Rusal has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Vietnamese conglomerate An Vien to create a mining and refinery complex at Binh Phuoc in Vietnam.
Bank of New York Mellon appoints Asia head of trade services
The Bank of New York Mellon has appointed Richard Brown as managing director and head of international payment and trade services for Asia.
Berne Union selects Sace's Ascari as committee president
Raoul Ascari, chief operating officer at the Italian export credit agency Sace, has been selected by the Berne Union as president of its medium and long-term committee.
Falcon Trade makes new appointment
Margaret Garner has been appointed head of legal at Falcon Trade Corporation.
