Commodity producers and other corporates in Russia are closely watching the possibility of increased sanctions being imposed by the US. But while the prospect of these is still unclear, there is confidence that lessons learned over the past five years of sanctions will provide a good degree of protection to any impact.

In late 2018 HSBC structured a multi-jurisdictional import financing that inaugurated a rare joint venture between ADM and Cargill in the Egyptian soybean sector.

In the latest edition of law firm Sullivan & Worcester’s Trade Finance Breakfast Seminar, partner Geoffrey Wynne assesses the vulnerability of trade and commodity finance to money laundering while stepping into the sanctions minefield by examining their increased use as a political tool.

Liberty House’s recent Aluminium Dunkerque deal is both its first syndicated bank acquisition financing and a novel de-risked structure that includes a syndicated commodity price hedging agreement for the smelter. Given Liberty's expansion plans, it is unlikely to be a one-off,

South Africa's President Ramaphosa has an opportunity to demonstrate his anti-corruption credentials ahead of this year’s elections by appointing a new board at the state pension fund. However, a dilution of political control over the money manager is unlikely, as the fund needs to act as a ‘last line of defence’ against any massive asset sell-offs in case of a much-vaunted triple-junk credit rating downgrade.