While some European commodity-linked corporates are tapping into expensive, short-term debt to boost their liquidity amid the Covid-19 pandemic, many Russian traders and producers are confidently going ahead with general syndicated loans that were in the pipeline even before the crisis.
Arnaud Floris, head of West, Central and North Africa at Bpifrance has been busy since he started his new role two months ago at the French ECA in the midst of a global pandemic. Floris speaks to TXF to discuss Bpifrance's response to the crisis.
It’s time to celebrate commodity finance excellence, as last year’s most outstanding, unique and influential deals, which cover a range of sectors and regions, have been named by TXF.
TXF spoke with EASTvine Capital, a small alternative fund set up in Singapore in 2018 by three ex-bankers who saw an opportunity to fill the commodity trade finance funding gap in Asia, which currently stands at an estimated $600 billion.
A few months after the launch of Squire Patton Boggs’ shipping and commodities group, headed up by partners Jessica Kenworthy and Barry Simpson, TXF caught up with the pair in Singapore to talk about the opportunities and obstacles in establishing the law firm in new markets amid a turbulent time for the global commodities market.
A few months after the launch of Squire Patton Boggs’ shipping and commodities group, headed up by partners Jessica Kenworthy and Barry Stimpson, TXF caught up with the pair in Singapore to outline the opportunities and obstacles in establishing the law firm in new markets amid a turbulent time for the global commodities industry.
Winning the Russian Commodities Finance Deal of the Year Award is aluminium producer Rusal with its $1.085 billion pre-export financing. Rusal has changed the benchmark as this was the first ever sustainability-linked syndicated facility for a Russian corporate arranged by international and Russian banks in Russia.
Cocobod has won TXF’s African Commodities Finance Deal of the Year for securing the first ever syndicated sustainability-linked loan for an African borrower – a milestone trade receivables-backed transaction for the second largest producer of cocoa in the world.
Winning TXF’s Asian Commodities Finance Deal of the Year Award, the up to $750 million cash-for-metal deal, signed between Duferco and JSW Steel in 2019, is the largest trade finance facility ever arranged for an Indian steel company. The financing marks the first deal of this size to close in the steel industry since the financial crisis and looks set to serve as a financing template for future deals.
Winning TXF’s Commodities Acquisition Finance Deal of the Year, Var Energi signed a $6 billion reserve base lending facility (RBL) in 2019 to back a highly strategic purchase for its upstream business in Norway - in a deal which marked the largest RBL in the market last year.
Winning TXF’s Most Innovative Commodities Finance Deal of the Year Award, Trailstone’s €150 million 2019 borrowing base marked a flurry of firsts for the commodity trade finance sector. In fact, never has such a structure been used to back the purchase and sale of renewable energy generated by wind and solar farms across Europe.
Winning TXF’s Energy Commodities Finance Deal of the Year, Nayara Energy’s first pre-payment loan is set to serve as a viable financing template for commodity-linked corporates in the Indian energy sector.
Winning TXF’s Commodity Trading Company Finance Deal of the Year Award, Bunge’s debut sustainabilitylinked facility has provided a seedbed for the trader to replicate deals of this kind going forward in the agribusiness sector, despite the financing taking years of discussions with lenders on how to integrate its financial strategy with its sustainability strategy.
Winning TXF’s Metals/Minerals Commodities Finance Deal of the Year Award, Metalloinvest signed a landmark €200 million pre-export finance (PXF) facility in 2019, with an attractive fixed interest rate for the entire maturity of the six-and-a-half-year loan – a record length PXF tenor for the Russian metals and mining company.
Taking home TXF’s Overall Commodities Finance Deal of the Year Award 2019, China’s Cofco signed the largest loan for a trading company yet which is linked to sustainability elements.
During a volatile time for global trade and the commodities market amid the coronavirus pandemic, TXF spoke to Jean Woo, partner at Ashurst in Singapore, to discuss how the law firm is staying abreast of the legal requirements facing its corporate clients as many of them look to restructure their debt.
Nornickel has sealed a $4.15 billion refinancing at time when Russian corporate borrowers and international lenders have found their cost of debt aspirations harmonising, according to sources, with the producer’s upsized and tightened deal a testament to this market sentiment.
The commodity trade finance funding mix is evolving. Growing regulation, the rise of alternative funds and all things ESG have contributed to the decline in deal volume in 2019. But are traders being transparent enough about their deals? And will bank-fund hybrid loans form a happy marriage?
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.
Available on demand: A premium online event focusing on recent and forthcoming developments across regional export & project finance with unbeatable networking opportunities across each market.
TXF is pleased to bring you an exclusive webinar event for commodity finance executives engaged in the Asia Pacific commodities market.
TXF's stages for change initiative is a space to celebrate the diverse experts in our industry. We shine a light on the underrepresented communities that make the market stand out.
The global export, agency & project finance games return! After the roaring success of our of our virtual event, join us for part 2: the physical event later in the year. Take your network further!
A gathering of all the key players in MENA - a chance to shake hands, exchange business cards and plan ahead for another year of successful deal-making!
TXF Global Commodity Finance 2020 conference goes back to the future . Join deal makers from across the globe for an unmissable virtual event in May and physical event in Geneva later on in the year
Join the crowds of exporters, ECAs, banks and insurers gathering to share their expertise and predictions for Asian project and export finance.
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.
The ultimate guide to Export Finance in Germany. Senior attendees from banks and exporters gather every year to make new connections and plan ahead...could you be one of them?
Roll up, roll up for the latest updates on Spanish Export Finance. This annual gathering will take you to the heart of the market and introduce you to senior decision-makers who make deals happen.
4 conferences in 1 - TXF will be coming to Paris, Frankfurt, Madrid and London for 4, 1 day events covering all the latest updates in the local export market. Pick your favourite and join us!
We're reuniting the French Export Finance industry to discuss trends in the market and make new valuable connections. Join us in Paris to get ahead of next year's deals.
Our first UK Export Finance event is coming to town this September. Delve into the local market and make high-level contacts that might just lead to your next deal...