GTR Trade Finance eNews - November 2010
Sri Lanka wins ANZ funding
ANZ is providing an export credit agency-backed US$105.2mn loan to the government of Sri Lanka for the third phase of a drinking water treatment plant project.
Kexim set to launch green programme
The Export-Import Bank of Korea is planning a new programme to provide more systematic and effective support for growth of Korea’s green industries.
HSBC loans to Sberbank
HSBC has agreed to loan Russia’s Sberbank US$100mn in a one-year trade finance facility.
ADB secures landmark bond issuance
The Asia Development Bank has achieved a landmark Rmb1.2bn issuance that brings with it a number of never-before seen elements in such a transaction.
Russia's tyre industry gets Italian boost
Russia’s state-run Rostechnologi and Sibur have signed a memorandum of understanding with Italy’s Pirelli to conclude a series of deals in a number of industries.
Hong Kong office on cards for SEB
Sweden’s SEB is planning to open a Hong Kong office in mid 2011.
Saudi Aramco oversubscribes revolver
State-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Company has leveraged on its strong credit profile to massively oversubscribe the renewal of its US$4bn revolving credit facility.
The facility, which received an oversubscription of almost 250%, drew the commitment of 28 participating financial institutions.
The dual-tranche facility is split into a five-year US$2.5bn tranche, of which US$1bn is a 364-day facility, and a five-year US$1.5bn-equivalent Saudi riyal tranche which was offered exclusively to Saudi financial institutions.
All tenors pay a very low margin to the banks; the average margin for the five-year facilities is just 16 basis points (bps), while the one-year facility pays 13bps.
Swift gets Islamic finance approval
Tech-firm Swift’s ISO 15022 message standards for treasury murabaha transactions have been certified compliant with international Islamic finance standards.
India Ex-Im reaches out to Kenya
The Export-Import Bank of India has provided a US$61.6mn line of credit to finance power transmission lines in Kenya.
Gavilon expands China offering
US commodities management firm Gavilon is expanding its China desk to provide trade finance services.
EDC opens up in Germany
Canada’s export credit agency has opened its first permanent representation in Western Europe in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Polymetal chooses UniCredit
Russian gold and silver miner Polymetal has mandated UniCredit for a five-year US$200mn debt facility.
Rand appoints new STCF head
Rand Merchant Bank is continuing its development to its structured trade and commodity finance team by promoting Adriaan Els.
Songhai Advisory opens its doors
A new Africa-focused business intelligence consultancy Songhai Advisory has set up to provide solutions for country risk, due diligence and executive search.
GTR Leaders in Trade Awards 2010 - The Winners Announced
GTR is happy to reveal the results of its third annual readers’ poll.
Deutsche makes senior SCTF hires
Deutsche Bank has hired two new directors to its structured commodity trade finance team in the Americas.
Delta moves forward with Macquarie
US independent oil and gas firm Delta Petroleum Corporation has received a commitment letter for a US$100mn senior secured credit facility with Australia’s Macquarie Bank.
Deal Update: Louis Dreyfus acquires Baja shares
French commodities firm Louis Dreyfus has acquired 36 million common shares in the capital of Baja Mining Corp as part of a deal which sees Dreyfus providing Baja with a US$35mn letter of credit.
HSBC wins Posco partnership
The world’s second largest steelmaker Posco has turned to HSBC’s global payments and cash management division to provide cash management services.
US banking expert joins BAML
Bank of America Merrill Lynch has poached Maureen Sullivan from fellow US bank JP Morgan Chase.
Standard Bank taps European debt market
South Africa’s Standard Bank has secured a US$230mn two-year club term loan from a group of seven international banks.
Evraz scales back PXF
Russian metals company Evraz has scaled back a twice-oversubscribed US$950mn pre-export financing facility with a group of 14 international banks.
Deutsche Bank, ING and RBS coordinated the facility, which has been priced at 2.8% over Libor and is due to mature in 2015.
The proceeds of the facility will be used to fully prepay the outstanding amount of the group’s existing syndicated dual-tranche loan that was signed for US$3.21bn in 2007.
China-focused trade finance division opens
A new boutique US trade finance outfit is being created to specifically focus on financing US imports of Chinese goods.
Vietnam's rice farmers get insurance aid
Reinsurance firm Swiss Re and Vietnamese institution Agribank’s insurance arm ABIC are teaming up to help rice farmers who are unable to pay back loans due to low crop yields.
RBS sells project finance book to BTMU
The Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ has agreed key terms for the acquisition of a £3.8bn portfolio of project finance assets from RBS.
Standard Bank oversubscribes Taiwan loan
A large club of 18 banks has signed an oversubscribed US$268mn term loan facility in Taiwan for South Africa’s Standard Bank.
The transaction carries a three-year tenor and was initially launched at US$200mn, but received enough interest to increase the final amount by US$68mn.
GTR can reveal that the loan is priced at 215 basis points over Libor.
BU's Armour wins second term
The Berne Union has re-elected Angus Armour as its president and has selected a number of new members to fill other senior roles.
StanChart announces new tech offering
Standard Chartered has launched two new tech products for corporate clients.
Barclays hires new head of FI
Matt Tuck will return to Barclays Corporate as managing director, head of financial institutions (FI).
EFIC and Westpac team up
Australia’s export credit agency and Westpac have signed a master working capital guarantee facility to help boost working capital for export contracts.
RBS ramps up GTS Asia team
RBS has brought in external banker Anand Pande to fill the newly created role of head of product management in the bank’s global transaction services (GTS) team in Asia.
BP closes oversubscribed syndications
BP has successfully closed the syndication of two non-recourse term loan facilities worth a total of US$4.75bn.
US Ex-Im agrees possible Comair backing
South Africa’s Comair has received a preliminary commitment from the US Ex-Im to back the purchase of eight Boeing aircraft.
Cairo Amman looks to EastNets
Jordan’s Cairo Amman Bank has turned to compliance and payments solutions provider EastNets to integrate the bank with the Swift network.
Fimbank doubles Lebanese factoring stake
Malta’s trade finance bank Fimbank has doubled its stake in its Lebanese factoring joint venture to 50%.
ABC opens in Moscow
Arab Banking Corporation (ABC) is opening in Russia, making it the first Arab bank to have a presence in the country.
The new representative office will officially open on November 25 in Moscow. It will be run by ABC International Bank, the UK subsidiary of the ABC Group.
Portugal's BCP to work with ICBC
One of Portugal’s largest banks Millennium BCP is set to work with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC).
Syndication opens for Turkey's Enerjisa deal
UniCredit (Austria), WestLB and the World Bank’s IFC have launched syndication of a €700mn debt package in support of Turkey’s Enerjisa.
Deutsche launches guarantee management system
Deutsche Bank has launched a new web-based tool designed to improve and automate syndicated guarantee management.
Deutsche is first to use URDG rules
Deutsche Bank is the first bank in the US to use the new Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees (URDG).
Finacity Corporation hires Leonard
Finacity Corporation has hired ex-Rosemount trade financier Jim Leonard.
Stemcor continues borrowing spree
Stemcor has closed its first German syndicated facility.
ICC speaks to Korean president on trade
Ahead of the G-20 meetings in Seoul, the chairman of the banking commission ICC Rajat Gupta has met with Korean president Lee Myung-bak.
PTA Bank issues first East African Eurobond
Joint bookrunners Standard Bank and HSBC have launched a US$300mn Eurobond for PTA Bank, the Kenya-based multilateral financial institution.
Intesa Soditic boosts front office team
Intesa Soditic has hired a new trader Sunita Mehta.
Syndication opens on UralSib loan
Russian bank UralSib is making a rare appearance in the syndications market.
Kolmar switches to Bolero
Swiss petrochemical company Kolmar group has signed up to tech-firm Bolero’s multi-bank trade finance solution.
BBVA gets renminbi first
BBVA has become the first Spanish bank to offer renminbi services in foreign trade deals.
Socar continues Deutsche partnership
Azerbaijan’s state-run oil company Socar has signed a US$100mn bilateral facility with Deutsche Bank.
HFW sets up in Geneva
Law firm Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW) has expanded its trade capability by opening an office in Geneva, Switzerland.
ABN Amro expands Singapore office
Erwin Boon has been appointed to ABN Amro’s Singapore office to head the global export and project finance debt solutions team.
Equinox Global opens up for business
Equinox Global has launched to provide improved certainty of cover and increased transparency in the credit insurance sector.
Banks take Russian sovereign risk
A club of banks has signed US$770.5mn in loan agreements to VEB to on-lend to finance the reconstruction of the Khabarosk oil refinery.
French institutions fund satellite launch
US broadband provider Hughes Network Systems has signed a US$115mn facility with BNP Paribas and Société Générale.
BNY Mellon boosts treasury services team
BNY Mellon has appointed Agatha Tung-Gerke to a senior position within its treasury services team in Asia Pacific.
JP Morgan bolsters TSS division
JP Morgan has promoted Hans Janssens to head of treasury and securities services in Japan.
New global head of trade for HSBC
HSBC has appointed one of its longest-serving bankers Rakesh Bhatia to the role of global head of trade and supply chain.
