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.
The Arab region has seen significant progress in education, particularly for women, thanks to the ambitious Visions for 2030 and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Governments have prioritised education reform to break generational cycles of poverty, inequality, and stagnant economic growth, leading to Arab women excelling in education and driving regional prosperity.
Trade is critical in advancing economies, including those in the MENA region. At the same time, trade finance presents unique opportunities for criminal exploitation, also referred to as Trade Based Financial Crime (TBFC).
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a trade finance transaction guarantee facility to Banque Commerciale Du Burundi (Bancobu). Leveraging Bancobu’s strategic footprint in the… read more →
A typical fund structure uses proceeds from shareholder subscriptions to invest in a diverse pool of assets. A fund generally cannot default if it has no debt obligations but rather will experience changes in its total return or net asset value available to fund shareholders (the investors).
Today, Standard Chartered and the IFC announced the signing of a $700 million investment in the IFC’s Global Trade Liquidity Programme (GTLP) in support of global trade finance. Since the… read more →
Saying the world’s oceans are vast is an understatement. If one were to sail from Cape Town to Tristan da Cunha, the world’s most remote inhabited island, located over 2,000 kilometres to the nearest land, the voyage would take longer than it took Apollo 11 to reach the moon.
Today, Deutsche Bank and SACE announced the close of a €57 million, 10-year lending facility in support of local food production in the Republic of Angola. This facility was guaranteed… read more →
Fraud has been a prevalent issue in commodity trading and financing over the past few years, most recently in relation to cargoes of metals.
ESG is certainly not a new development, but its growth and importance in financial services have never been higher. Whilst there has been a big focus on the “E” in ESG, we’re also seeing a lot of progress in tackling other aspects, such as social action to address societal challenges. One of the biggest social challenges in global trade is the huge, and growing, finance gap.
