TXF Venice 2017: The Global Borrowers' Summit

Promoting Export Finance

Hear government and ECA heads from crucial manufacturing nations discuss what they are doing to help their exporters, investors and the market.  

• How will ECAs maintain relevance, and develop products to match changing times?
• Will fast growing regions in need of cover see an increase to help exporters and development?
• How do ECAs differ on underwriting risk? What which change in terms of local content? Is there a change in the OECD Consensus?
• Will ECAs continue to increase direct lending? Will banks be disintermediated or serve a new purpose?
• Are ECAs getting better at collaborating with each other, as well as harmonising their offer, in the interests of efficiency for end-users of the product?

An essential briefing on the key trends influencing the export and project finance market today, drawn from a wide range of analysis.

Powering the world’s rapidly increasing population continues to offer investment opportunities in conventional and hybrid technology. Power drove the market in 2016 and left many exporters with full order books, half way through 2017 we look at the pertinent issues:

• With the Middle East and Asia leading the charge for gas-fired power, will the tightening of terms slow growth in new projects?
• In the wake of COP21 what opportunities are left for large-scale coal development?
• How can commercial banks and DFIs collaborate to fund small-scale IPPs in frontier markets? Will banks and ECAs be more active in Nuclear construction?
• Are concession structures robust enough in transmission and storage and what have lenders’ experiences been with battery and pumped storage?

Industry-leading exporters dealing with different sectors and nations reveal common challenges and opportunities.
 
• It has been much discussed, but has the debate surrounding OECD and non-OECD exporters evolved? What would be an ideal balance in the eyes of exporters?
• Given the current political and economic landscape, geographically, where will we see meaningful growth? Does the rise in protectionism concern exporters who pride themselves on going overseas?
• What ECA bank products are favoured by exporters, and how can the industry evolve to suit the modern exporter?

Economic overview of the domestic market, and how
this effects exporters in their destination markets. With
a geopolitical and economic outlook of these key export
markets for the Italian community.

With crude prices rebounding from their 2016 lows, is now the time for developers to reconsider their capex decisions – and banks their financing models?

• What evidence is there that investment decisions are now picking up? Which sub-sectors are benefiting?
• Which reserve-based loan borrowers should see the biggest improvement in terms? Large corporates or smaller non-recourse?
• Drill-ships and FPSOs: Are there signs of slack in the charter market?
• Trends in LNG: A permanent shift from large export projects towards floating regasification? What opportunities lie in LNG to power projects in Africa and the Americas?
• Pipelines: Looking for life in North American north-south and Eurasian east-west prospects, and for how politics meets commercial and ECA capacity.

How can collaboration with NBFIs can help banks optimise their scarce liquidity and balance sheet capacity to support clients and bottom line?

• How can non-bank investors make banks more efficient in providing loans to clients? How is this structured and what roles do different parties play?
• What impact is regulation having on liquidity and balance sheets? What might the future look like as a result of the changes this is driving?
• Do different market participants price the same risk differently and can this benefit the market as a whole?

As a global exporting hub, our panel of banks, SACE and exporters look at business opportunities in:

• Africa; how has the shift from West to East changed the outlook for exporters and what is the potential of nations including Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia?
• Iran; will it happen? Can Italy mirror Germany by providing indemnity for its banks and allowing business to begin?
• Will ECA business to the Middle East continue to be a growth opportunity and what sectors will this be in?
• Cruise shipping, power and defence have led the way in 2015/2016, is this trend expected to carry on for the next few years?

Project sponsors and borrowers from the largest global industries and investment destinations gather to strategise future growth opportunities and discuss how to structure the perfect deal:

 - Will Africa and the Middle East continue to offer exciting growth potential?
 - What one thing could banks do to help deals close more smoothly?
 - Would cross-border project finance survive a lurch towards protectionism in world trade? 
- Is there more room for capital markets products to evolve in project finance?

Following the integration of the Italian system, this panel comprised of exporter, agency and international bank delves into the key questions posed by the changed:

• How has the Italian system evolved and what can we expect from CDP, SACE and CIMEST? What does this mean for CIRR rates?
• How has the Italian Export Finance community adapted to the changes? How can we respond to the high cost of USD funding for European banks?
• What are the views of the international banking community and Italian Banking Association on the latest developments?
• Will the proposed decrease of cover to 95% and current country ratings make it difficult for Italian exporters to compete with their German and French counterpart’s?

New and capital-intensive technologies and low-carbon promises may lead to a boom in financings for the renewables sector:

• How are changing patterns of electricity use and production creating financing opportunities in the generation, transmission and storage infrastructure of renewable energy?
• Which renewable technologies are poised for growth (wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, tidal)?
• What investors – financial, strategic, or utility – are best placed to make this happen? Under what circumstances will institutional investors provide debt to emerging renewables technologies? When are ECAs useful?
• Which governments have been most successful in assembling a financeable renewables programmes and why?

This panel gathers 3 top economists to forecast political risk and economic trends up to the end of the decade. Delegates will then vote for the forecast they believe is most likely to materialise, using the audience response system. The discussion centers around some key issues:

• How will the Trump administration continue to change global trade and what opportunities and challenges arise from this?
• What impact will Brexit have on Europe, and will Eurozone crises continue into 2020 and beyond?
• Will China’s commodity consumption see a return to old levels and what does this mean for commodity prices going forward?
• Can oil recover to prices seen before the slump? What does this mean for new projects and investment in renewables?

The French export credit has experienced an unprecedented evolution in the last 2 years

- Direct guarantee from French State to the Export Credit Agency and transfer from Coface to Bpifrance Assurance Export

- SFIL’s mission of refinancing large size export credits

- Bpifrance’s mission to develop small size export credits for SMEs

With much promise in Russia, this session looks and what is getting done, what could get done, and the role you are likely to be able to play:

- What is the economic and political outlook for the
country, in terms of growth and potential sanctions
alleviation - or deterioration?
- What deals are still being done in the country, and in
which denomination?
- Which structures are being used to help keep business
moving and to what extent is Exiar’s flexibility helping
to facilitate this?