GTR Trade Finance eNews - Article January 2010
IADB lightens LatAm liquidity pressures
The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) has expanded the capabilities of its trade finance facilitation programme to provide loans as well as guarantees to participating banks, aiming to release more liquidity into the Latin American market. Rebecca Spong reports.
Paving the way in Ghana
After years of delay, the consortium mandated to construct, finance and manage a highway system linking two major Ghanaian cities has been granted an official concession by the government. Shannon Manders reports.
CDC lights way into Sierra Leone
UK’s CDC group has become the first development finance institution to make an equity investment in Sierra Leone since the end of the civil war in 2002. The investment suggests that appetite for Sierra Leone risk might be tentatively rising. Rebecca Spong reports.
The never-ending election
Politics is once again getting in the way of the economy in Ukraine. Foreign investors are being made nervous by another round of campaigning and the strain it is causing in relations with the IMF. But 2010 could bring a recovery for Ukraine, writes Julian Evans.
BTA Bank: A sigh of relief?
Kazakhstan’s BTA Bank has reached a deal over its trade finance debt. Although the outcome of the restructuring has been welcomed by the market, a question mark still hangs over Kazakhstan’s reputation in global financial markets. Rebecca Spong reports.
Japan: Prising open the market
State-backed insurer Nexi continues to provide vital support to Japanese exporters, and local Japanese banks are on hand to provide well-priced trade finance. Richard Meyer asks what opportunities remain for foreign players.
Asian strategies: Still setting the pace
Adopting an Asian-focused growth strategy is fast becoming an all too familiar ploy among global trade finance banks. Ted Kim speaks to some of those setting the trend.
GTR Asia: Hunting for new opportunities
Standard Chartered’s structured trade finance (STF) team has notched up double the number of deals in 2009 compared to 2008. Sanjeev Paul, head of STF at the bank, tells GTR what’s keeping his team so busy.
Islamic insurers join forces
A group of Arab and Islamic ECAs gathered in Beirut last year to launch the Aman Union, an alliance which aims to raise the profile of export insurance in Islamic countries. Shannon Manders speaks to Abdel-Rahman Taha, chief executive officer of the ICIEC and the main driving force behind the pioneering union.
Wake-up call for Islamic finance
The chaos of Nakheel’s unpaid bond may not signal the end of the world’s fascination with Islamic finance. Indeed, interest in the product may boom in the aftermath of the crisis, writes Helen Castell.
Dubai: Rescuing reputations
Bad debts in the Middle East have damaged reputations, and made banks increasingly nervous about the region’s risks, writes Kevin Godier.
GTR Mena: Are the best days yet to come?
This edition’s Market View comes from Lakshmanan Sankaran, head of trade finance centre, Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD). Despite Dubai’s debt drama, he believes the UAE will emerge stronger than ever.
German market leads way in transaction banking
BNY Mellon held the first in a series of regional thought leadership discussions in Frankfurt. It brought together a number of German banks to discuss the future of transaction banking, and how the German market may be ahead of the game in terms of how it offers its working capital banking solutions.
Cashing in on supply chain finance
As more and more corporates look towards supply chain finance (SCF) to safeguard the future of their suppliers, technology companies are breaking new grounds with a range of products and services. Liz Salecka reports.
Shut out in the cold
Credit committees are turning away viable trade deals due to lack of understanding and inadequate risk modelling, argues Aidan Applegarth.
Editorial board roundtable: Cautious step into new year
Some of the top decision-makers in the trade finance met at the end of 2009, just as the Dubai debt crisis sent the financial markets into a frenzy. Against this backdrop of renewed panic, they discussed their concerns surrounding the potential impact of the Middle East problems. Looking towards the new year, topics such as Basel II, liquidity constraints and Kazakhstan also came under the spotlight.
Political risk remains top fear for emerging market investors
Although commercial risks such as non-payment and bankruptcy have been causing the greatest headaches for those investing in the emerging markets in recent months, a new report has suggested that political risks are still a high priority.
Market to create trade finance default registry
Efforts to create a database on the level of defaults in trade finance are growing, following a meeting held in Brussels.
Forecasting strong growth
FIMBank has big ambitions for 2010. Not only is it returning to the Indian market, it is also setting its sights on new markets in Russia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Rebecca Spong meets the team in Malta.
Expanding Lloyds TSB trade team stands defiant
Lloyds TSB’s trade finance team believes its relationship-focused strategy is the key to its success, helping keep it ahead of others in the market. GTR speaks to Mike Gilham, director and head of financial institutions trade finance, and Sumit Jamuar, managing director, head of financial institutions sales at the bank.
Flying high: GTR Leaders in Trade 2009
The strength of the market has clearly been reflected in the number of votes cast for GTR’s annual readers’ poll on the leading financial institutions in trade finance in 2009.
