JB's weekly round-up - 4 November 2013
We have been busy putting together our annual Export and Agency Finance Special Report (due later this week) and as such, I have had extensive conversations with nine global heads of export finance at leading international banks.
Welcome to the weekly round-up of the TXF news service
Additional funding targeted by export banks
We have been busy putting together our annual Export and Agency Finance Special Report (due later this week) and as such, I have had extensive conversations with nine global heads of export finance at leading international banks. One of the big issues that keeps cropping up is how to raise additional funds in order to fund further export finance deals. A number of banks are looking to do this at the moment, some through refinancing schemes.
One example is the issue of a covered bond by Commerzbank in June. It was $500 million over a five-year term. The underlying asset was Euler Hermes covered business. The bond was snapped up very quickly and Ralph Lerch, global head of export finance at the bank suggests such arrangements are the best way to raise long-term debt at the current time. Several others agree, and TXF expects some big news on this front in the near future.
The report will be free to download in electronic form, and will be distributed in print form at our ECA Finance event in Paris next week.
Uralkali secures first ECA deal
In other ECA news, Uralkali, Russia’s leading potash producer, has signed its first ever export finance deal - a €171.4 million Euler Hermes-backed facility, arranged by UniCredit. The 14-year loan will finance the company’s Ust-Yayvinsky greenfield project in Russia. Dmitry Muz of Uralkali and Kai Preugschat of UniCredit will present a case study of the deal at the Paris conference.
And as Washington DC returns to normality (finally!), there was a timely reminder from US Ex-Im that it has contributed $1 billion in revenues to the US Treasury in FY2013, following a record $35.8 billion authorisations in 2012.
Extended terms pleases First Quantum
In commodities, First Quantum Minerals has secured important amendments to their existing, StanChart-arranged $2.5 billion credit facility. TXF spoke to First Quantum president Clive Newall, who said the extension in tenor allows the company to further assess the capex requirements for their Cobre Panama copper project in Peru, without the need for an expensive bridge loan.
E-ore
On to trade and supply chain finance, where BHP Billiton, RBS, Westpac, Cargill and Minerva Marine have completed the first trade financing of an iron ore trade using ESS’s CargoDocs electronic bill of lading and eUCP Presentation solutions, for a shipment from Australia to China.
And finally…
We can now ‘reveal’ (many will have known already) that in a major coup for Commonwealth Bank of Australia, experienced commodities banker Maaike Steinebach has joined as Hong Kong country head and MD for institutional banking and markets. We wish Maaike the best of luck in her new role.
All the best,
Jonathan Bell
Editor-in-Chief