Ireland-based Kenmare Resources returned to the debt markets in December to refinance the remaining debt backing its Moma titanium mine in Mozambique. But this time round, the deal has a new lender line-up, vanilla structure, looser covenants and cheaper pricing, which all reflect the strength of the mine’s cash flows and its expansion capacity.
At TXF's PRI conference last month, Pierre Vergnes, head of institutional financing at Fonroche Lighting, explains why the off-grid solar manufacturer taps ECA support over the private market when looking for insurance in challenging high-risk countries.
Eight months into her new role as CFO at Gunvor, TXF spoke with Muriel Schwab, the first ever woman to fill these shoes at the energy trader, to discuss where the company’s funding strategies will take its trading ventures in 2020.
On the sidelines of TXF’s PRI conference in December, Saqib Mustafa, executive director of structured trade and receivable finance at Santander, spoke to TXF to discuss the benefits of shopping around for private insurance brokers, and whether blockchain really is the future for hard trade deals?
Amid the coffee and croissants at Sullivan's latest trade finance breakfast seminar, partner Geoffrey Wynne discusses where trade fintech currently sits and where it is going.
Mercuria’s annual $1.2 billion Asian RCF closed last month. While the downsized deal and significant margin savings suggest the trader has a strong financial position, a continued drop in its oil trading business could spell a different fundraising story for 2020.
With banks having to implement the finalised version of Basel III (commonly called Basel IV) by 1 January 2022, regulatory requirements are becoming ever complex. TXF spoke to Fasil Nasim, co-founder of alternative fund Audentia Global, to discuss the implications of changing regulations on the commodity trade finance sector.
Commodity traders have always been customers to portfolio players in the LNG space. However, as traders up the signing of long-term offtake contracts, portfolio players are beginning to sell a large chunk of their LNG on the spot market as both parties compete for volume.
At the sidelines of TXF Geneva, TXF sat down with Amitji Odedra from Qbera Capital to discuss corporate appetite for diversification in funding, how the trade finance gap is creating opportunities for alternative funds and dabbling in the secondary trading market.
This year's edition of TXF’s Commodity Finance Market Report comprises the insights of 173 traders, bankers, alternative financiers, lawyers, brokers, borrowers and insurers through a two-part survey and in-depth interviews. It is our most representative, expansive and detailed yet.
Given its status as the world's second largest aluminium producer, Rusal's sustainability-linked loan debut is good news for the growing ESG movement. But like other deals in the commodity sector that have closed before it, the financial structure in Rusal's deal lacks the teeth to leave no doubt that it is not tinged with a bit of greenwash.
De-dollarisation in Russia is on the rise. And with already limited access to the international syndicated loan markets in the face of US sanctions, euro-denominated funding is providing a lower cost of debt for commodity-linked Russian borrowers.
Kernel signed a tightly priced $390 million PXF last month – a rare example of a Ukrainian corporate taking the structured trade finance route in 2019. And despite the political turmoil developing in Ukraine, the agri trader is out to the international bond/unsecured debt markets for future fundraising plans.
Before his retirement at the end of last month, after nearly 40 years in the commodity finance sector, TXF spoke with Deutsche Bank’s global head of structured commodity trade finance John MacNamara one last time.
Joe Blenkinsopp, global head of market development and distribution for political risk, credit & bond insurance at AXA XL, a division of AXA, talks to TXF from the sidelines of TXF Global Berlin, about being part of the XL Catlin-AXA merger. He discusses the consolidation and the healthy state of the private insurance market.
TXF spoke with Adam Harris, head of civil, infrastructure and energy at UKEF, to find out more about the UK ECA's cutting of exposures, while at the same time upping its direct lending capacity by £2 billion.
From the sidelines of TXF Amsterdam, Kris Van Broekhoven, global head of commodity trade finance at Citi, talks about Citi's growth in Asia, the drive towards digitising trade and the benefit of being a dollar bank in a dollar market.
On day one of TXF Amsterdam, Harris Antoniou, CEO at Amsterdam Trade Bank, talks about building an efficient transaction cycle, the ripple effect of pricing and how emission reduction targets are impacting trade.
At TXF Amsterdam, Marc Smallcombe, senior director energy and commodities at Mizuho, talks about growth of business in Russia, the challenges of blockchain and why the Japanese bank is benefiting from its low cost of funding.
In the midst of TXF Amsterdam, Natalia Heidendal, head of structured commodity finance at ING, talks about the search for producers within emerging markets, the rise of base metals and the risks imposed by sanctions and tariffs within the commodity market.
Small-scale miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) produce one third of the country’s cobalt amid dubious environmental and ethical standards. But can international and local mining groups help address the issue and provide regulatory frameworks to move the market to bankable structured financing?
Sanjeev Dutta, executive director of commodities and financial services at Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), talks to TXF about doing business within a free trade zone, DMCC's debut into the coffee market and the benefits of blockchain transparency.
Sandra Hack, global head of structured trade commodity finance at Deutsche Bank, discusses opportunities in the Nordics, overcoming the challenges of regulatory requirements and the possibility of Deutsche Bank broadening its clients within the commodity sector.
Sandra Hack, global head of structured trade commodity finance at Deutsche Bank, discusses opportunities in the Nordics, overcoming the challenges of regulatory requirements and the possibility of Deutsche Bank broadening its clients within the commodity sector.
From the side-lines of TXF Amsterdam 2019, Philippe Penet, CFO at Sucafina, discusses sustainability, the digitisation of the supply chain and locking in coffee prices.
DFI loans and a direct loan from Canada’s EDC have enabled commercial banks to push the tenor on Guinea Alumina Corporation’s greenfield mining project financing.
Sucafina has been awarded TXF’s Soft Commodities Finance Deal of the Year after closing a $70 million borrowing base facility in 2018. The deal is the first of its type to finance coffee trading in Brazil and provides a seedbed for future Sucafina facilities to include a more diverse pool of South American assets.
Despite a challenging aluminium price environment in 2018, China’s Hangzhou Zhengcai Holding Group tapped the international debt market for the first time with an offshore pre-payment facility, taking home TXF’s Asia-Pacific Commodities Finance Deal of the Year.
The fun in the sun returns! Bringing all key players together for two days of networking, we explore case studies of the latest deals and examine the next hot opportunities across the region.
The only dedicated forum for the APAC trade and commodity finance community. Join dealmakers from across Asia-Pacific as we tackle key industry issues and analyse the latest deals in the market.
TXF Africa 2020 will focus on recent and forthcoming developments across regional export, project & commodity finance and explore new opportunities for each market.
TXF Global Commodity Finance 2020 conference goes back to the future . Join deal makers from across the globe for an unmissable two day 80’s themed extravaganza.
The global export, agency & project finance games return for 2020! Join us in Madrid for the largest gathering of its kind with a vision to taking your network further than ever before.