To break down the intricacies of factoring and to provide an overview of the UAE law, Trade Finance Global (TFG) spoke to Marek Dubovec, director at the International Law Institute and professor at the University of Arizona.

Lenders across the world are grappling with the trade finance asset class. In Singapore, a string of legal cases has left banks facing the prospect of staggering losses with the nature of the trade finance asset class, as secure and self-liquidating, facing an existential crisis.

Factoring is a relatively new product for the Georgian market, developing in 2007. The factoring market in Georgia began with the technical advisory support of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) Trade Facilitation Programme (TPF) to facilitate and pilot the implementation of factoring with a Georgian bank.

The resilience of Ukrainian businesses deserves special attention. Entrepreneurs have not only survived the beginning of the war, but continue to develop their businesses. According to a survey, as of March 2022, only 13% of enterprises were operating as they were prior to the war, 48% were operating at partial efficiency, and 35% suspended operations and were waiting for better times. 

At the 2023 ITFA Trade and Investment Forum in London, Trade Finance Global spoke with Alexander Malaket, president, OPUS Advisory Services, to learn more about trade finance as an asset class, the promise of a standardised rating system, and the role of ESG as a catalyst for investment

VIDEO: Learn more about the letter of credit and the rules governing its use in this four-part interview series with Pradeep Taneja of ICC Bahrain. Includes: tips and explanations of the UCP 600 and the evolution of the rules.

In 2023, environmental and climate issues will again be at the top of the policy agenda in the Middle East and North Africa. The upcoming COP28 climate conference in Dubai and the rapid growth in the renewables sector in Egypt and North Africa both point to the growing power of MENA states within global climate politics.

Quite often, trade does not happen directly between the producer of the raw material, the manufacturer and the end user. The supply chain process involved are complex, with each point in the journey ‘adding value’ and potentially adding to the “sustainability footprint” of the product. 

In this episode of Trade Finance Talks, Deepesh Patel, editor at TFG was joined by Chris Southworth, co-chair of Legal Reform Advisory Board at ICC Digital Standards Initiative, and Nick Davies, director of the Centre for Digital Trade and Innovation.

As the commodity trading industry looks back on Q1 of 2023, it is evident that the first three months of the year have been marked by a number of significant events.